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CSIRO offers science programs and resources for schools and special events around Australia and a range of at home science for all ages. CarbonKids is a program for schools committed to tackling climate change. The educational resources offer a range of ideas and activities for the early, primary and middle years of schooling and enable students to achieve outcomes set out in State and Territory curriculum frameworks. The units and complementary materials have been developed to assist students in developing an understanding of: - climate change and its impact on society and environments - the interrelationship between the greenhouse emissions, the environment and our society - how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in schools and local communities - the role of forest biodiversity and biosequestration in addressing climate change - how to adopt a sustainable lifestyle and take action to tackle climate change
Since the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005, Lebanon has been going through several political crises, but what has had the most impact on Lebanon are economic crisis, coronavirus pandemic, depreciation of the currency and presence of Hezbollah fighters, which we can no longer describe these fighters as the existence of a “state within a state” however it would be better to describe them as a existence of small powerful state in a big weak state. They are militias who do not obey any domestic or international laws because by all measures, Hezbollah is currently stronger and more stable than the government in Beirut. They even have the ability to direct Lebanon’s domestic and foreign policy, whether in a positive direction and in line with the principles of the international system or contrary to the world order. From the beginning of 2020, Lebanon involved with a number of serious crises; Crises such as the collapse of the government, spread of the coronavirus, explosion of the country’s largest port and most importantly; Lebanon lira has fallen by nearly 80% to the US dollar. This made it impossible for Lebanon to provide basic necessities such as electricity, drinking water and gasoline to its citizens until the government of Beirut did not even have the money to clean up the streets of Beirut. Last year, the Beirut government announced; they are not only can repay these loans, but they cannot even repay the interest that has accrued on these loans. The two international organizations have so far refused to lend to Lebanon and in return call for a policy of reforming the economic structures in Lebanon. Currently; Lebanon has become a country of crisis, demonstrations, strikes and the collapse of sequential governments. The example of Lebanon, like other Middle Eastern countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Yemen and many others, shows that these states can no longer protect the security of their citizens and stability with their existing structures. Therefore, if we are realistic and think about the future of the generations of this region, we will understand the fact that another form of statehood is needed for this region. A form which the state accurate to the aspirations of the different nations within the state. This is not the last solution, but the first step to solve the problems of the Middle East.
There are many common myths and legends that mention remarkable flying machines and how ancient people travelled great distances through the air. According to ancient Indian history, their ancient sacred texts called the ‘Vedas’ talk about flying ships that visited Earth more than 6,000 years ago. Reference to the ancient Vimana can be be found in the Mahabharata: “An apparatus which can go by its own force, from one place to place or globe to globe.” The Vimana is also described as having twelve cubits in circumference with four strong wheels that are approximately 20 to 25 feet in circumference. According to extraterrestrial researcher and author, Erich Von Daniken, these flying machines navigated at great heights with a great propulsive wind. The propulsion of the Vimanas was achieved using “Mercury Vortex Engines.” With the help of Vimana, ancient astronauts are believed to have visited different places on Earth. The ancient text also includes details on steering mechanisms, protection from weather and solar energy technology. The Vaimānika Śāstra, an early 20th-century Sanskrit text on aerospace technology, also makes the claim that Vimanas were advanced aerodynamic vehicles. The ancient texts suggest Vimanas were similar to a rocket and capable of interplanetary flight. It is important to note that the ancient Sanskrit documents from the 4th Century BC, were recovered many years ago in Lhasa, Tibet. The texts were sent to the University of Chandigarh for translation. Dr Ruth Reyna translated the documents into English and went on to claim that the texts are ‘blueprints’ for the construction of interstellar spaceships. According to Reyna, The the propulsion system was based on “anti-gravitational technology.” The translated Indian texts suggest that ancient civilisations were extremely sophisticated and used advanced technologies thousands of years before they were ‘reinvented’ by science. The Tibetan books of Tantyua and Kantyua also mention ancient flying machines, which they refer to as “pearls in the sky.” In both books, they emphasize that this knowledge is secret, and should be kept from the masses. China went on to include parts of the recovered information for study as part of their space program. For an alternate view of historical events, megalithic structures and archeological discoveries, you can watch a series called Erich Von Daniken: Beyond the Legend.
Dentures are removable false teeth made of acrylic (plastic), nylon or metal. They fit snugly over the gums to replace missing teeth and eliminate potential problems caused by gaps. Gaps left by missing teeth can cause problems with eating and speech, and teeth either side of the gap may grow into the space at an angle. Sometimes, all the teeth need to be removed and replaced. You may therefore need either: - complete dentures (a full set) - which replace all your upper or lower teeth, or - partial dentures - which replace just one tooth or a few missing teeth Dentures can help to prevent problems with eating and speech and, if you need complete dentures, they can also improve the appearance of your smile and give you confidence. This page provides information for anyone who's considering dentures and advice for those who already wear them. It explains: How dentures are fitted A full denture will be fitted if all your upper or lower teeth need to be removed or you're having an old complete denture replaced. The denture will usually be fitted as soon as your teeth are removed, which means you won't be without teeth. The denture will fit snugly over your gums and jawbone. However, if you have dentures fitted immediately after the removal of several teeth, the gums and bone will alter in shape fairly quickly and the dentures will probably need relining or remaking after a few months. Occasionally, your gums may need to be left to heal and alter in shape for several months before dentures can be fitted. You can either see a dentist or a qualified clinical dental technician to have your dentures made and fitted. The difference between a dentist and a clinical dental technician (in terms of producing dentures) is outlined below. - A dentist - will take measurements and impressions (moulds) of your mouth, and then order your full or partial dentures from a dental technician. - A clinical dental technician - will provide a full set of dentures directly without you having to see your dentist (although you should still have regular dental check-ups with your dentist). A trial denture will be created from the impressions taken of your mouth. The dentist or clinical dental technician will try this in your mouth to assess the fit and for you to assess the appearance. The shape and colour may be adjusted before the final denture is produced. A partial denture is designed to fill in the gaps left by one or more missing teeth. It's a plastic, nylon or metal plate with a number of false teeth attached to it. It usually clips onto some of your natural teeth via metal clasps, which hold it securely in place in your mouth. It can easily be unclipped and removed. Occasionally, the clips can be made of a tooth- or gum-coloured material, although this type of clip isn't always suitable, because it tends to be more brittle than metal. Your dentist can measure your mouth and order a partial denture for you, or you can see a qualified clinical dental technician, who can provide a partial denture for you directly after you've first seen your dentist for a treatment plan and certificate of oral health. A fixed bridge is an alternative to a partial denture and may be suitable for some people. Crowns are put on the teeth either side of the gap and joined together by a false tooth that's put in the gap. Looking after your dentures Dentures may feel a bit strange to begin with, but you'll soon get used to wearing them. At first, you may need to wear your dentures all the time, including while sleeping. Your dentist or clinical dental technician will advise you on whether you should remove your dentures before you go to sleep. It isn't always necessary to remove your dentures at night, but doing so can allow your gums to rest as you sleep. If you remove your dentures, they should be kept moist - for example, in water or a polythene bag with some dampened cotton wool in it, or in a suitable overnight denture-cleaning solution. This will stop the denture material from drying out and changing shape. Keeping your mouth clean is just as important when you wear dentures. You should brush your remaining teeth, gums and tongue every morning and evening with fluoride toothpaste to prevent tooth decay, gum disease and other dental problems. Read more about how to keep your teeth clean. Clean your dentures as often as you would normal teeth (at least twice a day - every morning and night). You should: - brush your dentures with toothpaste or soap and water before soaking them to remove food particles - soak them in a fizzy solution of denture-cleaning tablets to remove stains and bacteria (follow the manufacturer's instructions) - brush them again, as you would your normal teeth (but don't scrub them too hard) Dentures may break if you drop them, so you should clean them over a bowl or sink filled with water, or something soft such as a folded towel. The British Dental Health Foundation website has more information on denture cleaning. Eating with dentures When you first start wearing dentures, you should eat soft foods cut into small pieces and chew slowly, using both sides of your mouth. Avoid chewing gum and any food that's sticky, hard or has sharp edges. You can gradually start to eat other types of food until you're back to your old diet. Never use toothpicks. If your dentures fit properly, you shouldn't necessarily need to use denture fixative (adhesive). However, if your jawbone has shrunk significantly, adhesive may be the only way to help retain your dentures. Your dentist or clinical dental technician will advise you if this is the case. At first, some people feel more confident with their dentures if they use adhesive. Follow the manufacturer's instructions and avoid using excessive amounts. Adhesive can be removed from the denture by brushing with soap and water. Remnants of adhesive left in the mouth may need to be removed with some damp kitchen roll or a clean damp flannel. When to see your dentist You should continue to see your dentist regularly if you have dentures (even if you have complete dentures) so they can check for any problems. Your dentures should last several years if you take good care of them. However, your gums and jawbone will eventually shrink, which means the dentures may not fit as well as they used to and can become loose, or they may become worn. See your dentist as soon as possible if: - your dentures click when you're talking - your dentures tend to slip, or you feel they no longer fit properly - your dentures feel uncomfortable - your dentures are visibly worn - you have signs of gum disease or tooth decay, such as bleeding gums or bad breath If poorly fitting or worn dentures aren't replaced, they can cause great discomfort and lead to mouth sores, infections or problems eating and speaking.
Did a Huge Impact Lead to the Cambrian Explosion? Could a large impact in the deep ocean have produced some of the most enigmatic features in our Earth’s history? According to Grant Young, a geologist at the University of Western Ontario, the answer may be yes. About 570 million years ago, our Earth underwent a series of puzzling events: a drastic shift in climatic zones, a mysterious change in the carbon cycle, and a sudden burst of animal life that led to the Cambrian explosion. Young has studied Precambrian rocks around the world for over fifty years, and he thinks these riddles could all be linked to a single catastrophic event. In a paper published this month in a journal of the Geological Society of America, he posits that a large marine impact, which may have occurred about 570 million years ago, could partly account for these phenomena. According to his theory, the spin axis (or “tilt”) of our planet would have shifted drastically upon impact, modifying climate patterns. A large volume of water would have also been blown into the atmosphere, accounting for the mysterious oxidation of the carbon found in oceans. The ensuing environmental re-organization would have then set the stage for the emergence of complex life. “I’m not saying that the impact theory is one hundred percent certain,” Young says. “But so many unusual changes seem to have taken place at the same time — the most suggestive being the change in distribution of glacial deposits from the tropics to the poles.” The “Tropical Glaciers” Conundrum In the 1960s, a geologist named Brian Harland made a startling discovery. He found that, in the Precambrian, glaciers had formed at sea-level near the equator, suggesting that tropical regions must have been much cooler back then. Researchers came up with several theories to resolve this conundrum. One of them, the famous “Snowball Earth” hypothesis, held that glaciations in these ancient times were so severe that the entire planet was covered in ice. But a problem with that theory, according to Young, is that early glaciations were only found at low latitudes, and not in polar regions where they occur today. In 1975, George Williams of the University of Adelaide proposed that in the Precambrian our Earth may have had a much higher tilt (about 54 degrees) than its present configuration (23.5 degrees). That high tilt could have been produced by the major impact that created our Moon 4 billion years ago. According to Dr. Young, another large impact 570 million years ago could account for the drastic reduction in tilt to today’s position. It would also explain why glaciers developed near the tropics throughout most of the Precambrian, whereas today they are found near the poles. The Shuram Anomaly In the early 1990s, geologists found a curious anomaly in the carbon isotopic composition of rocks in Shuram, Oman. In these rocks, the ratio of carbon-13 to carbon-12 was the lowest that had ever been seen. That drop in carbon ratio was later found in other formations all over the globe, suggesting a dramatic change in the composition of world oceans. Such drops had occurred earlier, but they were usually associated with glaciations. The Shuram event was not. “Some researchers have proposed that an oxidizing event must have occurred in the deep ocean at that time,” says Young, “but they couldn’t explain why that happened.” According to him, a violent marine impact could explain the anomaly. “The impact could have blown a large portion of the ocean into the atmosphere,” he says. “This would provide a plausible mechanism for the oxygenation of the oceans.” What’s more, several deep canyons were formed around that time, including in South Australia, California, and Uruguay — all around the time of the Shuram anomaly. “The impact could have temporarily flooded continents and contributed to the formation of these deep canyons, as huge volumes of water invaded the land and returned to the oceans,” Young says. “The previously unexplained change in the chemistry of world oceans, together with the excavation of deep subaerial canyons, are considered to be the “smoking gun” for a cryptic, large oceanic impact,” he adds. Animal Life Emerges These events marked the beginning of another drastic event known as the Cambrian explosion. Animal life on Earth suddenly blossomed, with all of the major groups of animals alive today making their first appearance. “The important biological innovations of that period, commonly attributed to the “snowball Earth,” may be allied to massive environmental perturbations accompanying the proposed oceanic impact,” Young writes. “If the impact origin for the Shuram anomaly is correct, its widespread effects and “instantaneous” nature would provide one of the most useful and precise time markers in the geological record.”
After a rigorous 10-month selection process, the FAA has announced the six U.S. states that will host sites for testing commercial-built drones. It's an important next step for developing the rules and standards under which drones will fly in U.S airspace. The Federal Aviation Administration received 25 proposals from 24 states for the research and testing of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The agency considered a number of criteria, including geography, climate, location of ground infrastructure, research needs, airspace use, aviation experience, and risk. The six sites chosen include Alaska (University of Alaska), Nevada (State of Nevada), New York (New York's Griffiss International Airport), North Dakota (North Dakota Department of Commerce), Texas (Texas A&M University), and Virginia (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech)). Each institute will focus on particular research goals. For example, Griffiss International will investigate the impact of drones on air traffic congestion, while Texas A&M will develop standards for testing drones' airworthiness. Once the tests begin, pilots will be notified through announcements about where the test drones are being flown. The FAA explains more: Each test site operator will manage the test site in a way that will give access to parties interested in using the site. The FAA's role is to ensure each operator sets up a safe testing environment and to provide oversight that guarantees each site operates under strict safety standards. From the start, the FAA recognized it was important to have requirements ensuring that privacy and civil liberties are protected at the test sites. Among other requirements, test site operators must comply with federal, state, and other laws protecting an individual's right to privacy, have publicly available privacy policies and a written plan for data use and retention, and conduct an annual review of privacy practices that allows for public comment. Test site operations will continue until at least February 13, 2017. Image: Tyler Olson/Shutterstock.
What does the idiom "Jump on the bandwagon" mean? Jump on the bandwagon is an idiom used by many writers. When idioms are used in the right place, they open the doors of effective communication and increase your descriptive power. In this way, you will be better understood. The meaning of the expression Jump on the bandwagon is also remarkable in this respect. Meaning of "Jump on the bandwagon" The phrase 'Jump on the bandwagon' is an idiom that has become a popular way to express the idea of joining a group or idea in order to gain some benefit. It refers to the practice of political campaigners of the 19th century to ride in a wagon filled with supporters around a town in order to drum up support for a particular candidate. Whether it refers to a cause, product, idea, or movement, jumping on the bandwagon suggests that one is participating in the activity for the sole purpose of being part of the movement, not necessarily because of a strong personal conviction or commitment to the idea. The phrase “jump on the bandwagon” originated in the United States in the early 19th century and was used to describe political canvassing. Politicians of the era would ride in wagons filled with supporters as they traveled from town to town, trying to get people to join their cause. It was a way to rally the public and to show off their popular support. The phrase has since evolved to become a part of the American vernacular, and it is now used to describe any sort of bandwagon effect. The phrase 'Jump on the bandwagon' is commonly used to suggest that someone has joined a popular trend or movement, and that they do not necessarily have a strong personal commitment to the idea. It is often used in a slightly negative way, suggesting that someone has joined the group to benefit from the popularity, rather than out of genuine belief or conviction. - He's always jumping on the bandwagon, trying to get in on the latest trend. - They had their doubts about the project, but eventually, they decided to jump on the bandwagon. - He never really had an opinion of his own, he was just jumping on the bandwagon with the crowd. - I'm not sure I can get behind this movement, I don't want to just be jumping on the bandwagon. From Shakespeare to Social Media: The Evolution of English Idioms English idioms have been around for centuries, with many originating from sources like literature, mythology, and everyday life. Shakespeare, for example, coined many phrases that are still used today, such as "break the ice" and "heart of gold." Over time, new idioms have emerged, with social media and popular culture providing rich sources of inspiration. For instance, the phrase "throwing shade" came into use in the 1990s thanks to ball culture, but has since been popularized by social media.
An aneurysm is by definition an abnormal dilatation of an artery or vein, and the application of this general principle to the abdominal aorta has seldom presented any problems in routine clinical practice. The universal use of abdominal ultrasound as a basic diagnostic tool, and particularly the introduction of screening programmes for abdominal aortic aneurysms, has recently highlighted the need for a more precise definition to allow appropriate diagnosis of the many marginal aortic dilatations, or small aneurysms, which are now being discovered. The diameter of the abdominal aorta, like other biological measurements, conforms to a normal population distribution curve. Median aortic diameter increases with age, is greater in men than in women, and is influenced by the race, weight, height, and prevalence of hypertension in the population studied. In men, after 60 years of age the shape of the curve becomes increasingly skewed to the right as the prevalence of abdominal aortic aneurysm increases. A definition of aneurysm based on deviation from the mean aortic diameter for a population will therefore be of limited value. In some patients with an abdominal aortic aneurysm, dilatation may also involve the suprarenal or thoracic aorta, leading to a diagnosis of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm or generalized arterial ectasia, depending on the amount and extent of the dilatation. Any definition that relies solely on comparison of suspected aneurysm diameter with adjacent ‘normal’ aortic diameter will fail in the 5 per cent of patients whose aneurysms are not confined to the infrarenal aorta. A modern definition of an aortic aneurysm takes into account the above facts and make due allowance for the inaccuracies of measurement inherent in even the most precise methods of diagnosis. The following definition is proposed: ‘An aortic aneurysm is present when the maximum external diameter of the aorta either (1) is at least 4.0 cm; or (2) exceeds the diameter of the adjacent aorta by at least 0.5 cm.’ The imprecise but clinically useful term ‘aortic ectasia’ should be reserved for those cases where the aorta appears abnormally wide but is not aneurysmal by the above definition. Aortic aneurysms are very rare before the age of 55 and are virtually confined to patients with Marfan's,. Ehlers–Danlos, or arteria magna syndromes. The common idiopathic abdominal aortic aneurysm is largely a disease of elderly men. Comparison of deaths from ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm by age and sex reveal this to be 13 times more common in men than in women at age 60 to 65 years, but only four times more common in men than in women at over 80 years of age (Table 1) 179. At age 85 almost three times as many women as men are still alive, so among the very elderly the numbers of men and women presenting with ruptured aneurysms is similar. The changing pattern of aneurysm presentation with age, combined with an increase in the number of elderly people in the populations of most wealthy nations, has led some surgeons to conclude erroneously that abdominal aortic aneurysm has increased in incidence disproportionately in women. The annual risk of death from aortic aneurysm increases from 125 per 10&sup6; for men aged 55 to 59 years to 2728 per 10&sup6; at age 85+. At age 70 to 74 years, aortic aneurysms are responsible for 2.2 per cent of all deaths in men, and abdominal aortic aneurysms account for 77 per cent of these (Fig. 1) 267. The disease is a particularly common cause of unexpected deaths, and more than 5 per cent of sudden deaths in men over 50 years of age investigated by autopsy are found to be due to ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. In the past 30 years there has been a linear increase in the number of recorded deaths from aortic aneurysm in England and Wales. In part this can be explained by the progressive growth in the number of elderly in the population, but age-specific death rates for aortic aneurysm have also increased over the age of 60. Some of the increase may be real, but much of the apparent change may be due to enhanced awareness of the disease, improved diagnosis, and altered referral patterns associated with the establishment of specialist vascular units. This issue is difficult to resolve because of the unreliability of national records of cause of death, which ultimately depend on the diagnostic acumen of the reporting doctor, seldom supported by autopsy evidence. In the United States a similar, but more rapid, increase in age-adjusted mortality for aortic aneurysm occurred between 1951 and 1968, but the number of recorded deaths then stabilized and, in Caucasian males, has declined at 2 per cent/annum since 1976, possibly as a consequence of the increasing impact of elective aneurysm surgery. Reports from the early part of the century illustrate that there has been a qualitative as well as quantitative change in abdominal aortic aneurysm disease. Before the introduction of effective antisyphilitic therapy, the majority of aortic aneurysms were a manifestation of tertiary syphilis, and the mean age of presentation was consequently lower than at present. In developed countries, syphilitic aneurysms are now rare and idiopathic abdominal aortic aneurysms of the elderly represent the vast majority of cases seen. There has been debate about the influence of racial factors on abdominal aortic aneurysms, with most studies focusing on comparison of black and white populations in the United States and South Africa. There is no doubt that the disease is seen less often in people of African descent than in Caucasians, but in both countries it is difficult to discover whether the differences simply reflect the lower life expectation and mean age of the black population and their poorer access to health care. The high prevalence of hypertension in these people gives theoretical grounds for suspecting that, age for age, abdominal aortic aneurysm might well be more common than in Caucasians. At present the evidence for racially determined differences in incidence must be regarded as suspect, and careful epidemiological studies will be required to resolve this issue. The prevalence of any disease represents the total number of cases, both diagnosed and occult, present in the population at any given time, and should be distinguished from incidence, which is the number of new cases diagnosed over a specified period of time. The majority of aortic aneurysms are asymptomatic and impalpable; consequently their prevalence in the community can be determined only by systematic screening. Although the results of many screening studies have been published, most are fundamentally flawed as measures of prevalence. The incidence of aortic aneurysm increases rapidly with age and is much higher in men than in women. Prevalence studies must therefore differentiate each 5- or 10-year age-group and men from women. Studies in patients with hypertension, atherosclerosis, or other diseases cannot produce prevalence data relevant to the whole population. Examination of all the data (Table 2) 180 does, however, allow a number of conclusions to be drawn. 1.In men aged 65 to 74 the prevalence of abdominal aortic aneurysm of all sizes is around 5.5 per cent, and of diameter 4.0 cm or more is at least 2.0 per cent. 2.In patients with hypertension or atherosclerotic occlusive disease of the coronary, carotid, or limb arteries the prevalence of abdominal aortic aneurysm is 50 per cent higher than in the general population. The common abdominal aortic aneurysm of elderly men has been labelled as ‘atherosclerotic’. This classification has little justification, has paralysed thinking, and needs to be re-examined. It is interesting to note that aneurysmal disease is encumbered by more than its fair share of unhelpful, or frankly misleading, descriptive terms, among which are atheromatous, mycotic, inflammatory, dissecting, and arteriovenous aneurysms. In the elderly the aorta, in common with every other artery, will have obvious features of atherosclerosis but this is not enough evidence to make credible a pathological diagnosis that does not fit with many known facts about the disease. Tilson has compared patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms and those with occlusive aortoiliac disease. He found that the aneurysm patients were nine times more likely to be male; were, on average, 11 years older; and were much less likely to have had previous arterial surgery. Patients with occlusive disease were 16 times more likely to require reoperation after aortic surgery. In addition, aneurysm patients were, on average,more than 5 cm (2 inches) taller than patients with occlusive arterial disease, and had a significantly greater body surface area. In our own experience, aneurysms in patients who have associated occlusive arterial disease are generally smaller and may be less likely to rupture than in patients without severe atherosclerosis. This view is supported by the observation that mean growth rates for small aneurysms are 50 per cent faster when there is no obvious occlusive arterial disease. Surgeons have been aware for some years of the occasional occurrence of several cases of abdominal aortic aneurysm within families, but proof of the familial pattern of the disease has been difficult to obtain because of the absence of symptoms and the advanced age of onset in most patients. Even carefully elicited family histories will often be unhelpful, since the majority of those with the aneurysm diathesis will die from other causes, and many who die from aneurysm rupture will have the wrong diagnosis recorded unless an autopsy is carried out. The problem is compounded by the absence of a common name for aortic aneurysm, which is consequently unfamiliar to the general public. Recently, ultrasound screening studies have shown a prevalence of abdominal aortic aneurysm of 30 per cent in first-degree male relatives of patients with the disease. Because of the late age of onset, many of those with no evidence of an aneurysm at the time of screening could well develop the disease when they are older, so the lifetime prevalence in brothers and sons of aneurysm patients may be as high as 50 per cent. The search for the gene or genes responsible is hindered by the absence of three-generation families with confirmed aneurysm inheritance for genetic studies. It is likely that, with the rapid strides currently occurring in molecular biology, this problem will be solved in the next few years, using techniques such as paired sibling analysis. Connective tissue degradation Research efforts have concentrated on attempts to discover the mechanism of breakdown of collagen and elastin in the arterial wall of enlarging and ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms. Several studies have shown the presence of proteolytic activity in tissue from aneurysmal aorta, but authentic collagenase has been shown to be present only when the aneurysm has ruptured. It is uncertain whether collagenolysis is the cause or a consequence of aneurysm rupture. Similar uncertainties surround the detection of elastase in the aortic wall and serum of aneurysm patients. The discriminant value of such analyses between patients with and without aneurysms has not always been confirmed, although recently a unique metalloprotease elastase has been found only in aneurysm patients. Recently, in one family in which aneurysms occurred in several members at an early age, it has been shown that the disease is linked to a genetically determined defect in type III collagen. It is possible that other genetic variations in type III collagen may account for some, if not all, cases of abdominal aortic aneurysm. Such a finding, although at present speculative, would mirror the situation in osteogenesis imperfecta where the disorder has been shown to be caused by a large number of different genetic variations in type I collagen. Abdominal aortic aneurysms have been shown to be associated with: (5)chronic obstructive airways disease (irrespective of smoking history); (6)occlusive arterial disease affecting coronary, carotid, and limb arteries. In addition, aortic aneurysm is most common in Caucasians and those who are tall, but these are unlikely to be independent disease determinants and probably reflect racial differences in population–age structure and the relationship between height, longevity, and socioeconomic status. The mechanisms by which environmental influences interact with underlying genetic predisposition to produce abdominal aortic aneurysm in an individual patient is at present uncertain, but the first three factors listed have by far the greatest importance. It is interesting that, in common with other diseases, the marked protective effect of female sex is progressively lost with advancing age, although even in the very elderly the risk of dying from aortic rupture is three times greater for men than for women. The great majority of abdominal aortic aneurysms are fusiform and are confined to the infrarenal segment. Small saccular aneurysms are sometimes seen adjacent to atheromatous plaques in patients with predominant occlusive disease (Fig. 2) 268, and rapidly growing infective ‘mycotic’ saccular aneurysms occasionally occur as a consequence of bacteraemia. Mycotic aneurysms are a local manifestation of systemic disease, require urgent medical and surgical treatment irrespective of size, and have a totally different natural history from that of the common idiopathic aortic aneurysms of the elderly discussed here. The mean diameter of the infrarenal abdominal aorta increases with age in both men and women. An aortic aneurysm begins as a local accentuation of this normal ageing process. Physical laws predict that the rate of growth will increase with diameter, so once any local accentuation has started it can be expected to increase progressively with time. This explanation accounts for the three types of dilatation common seen, namely: (1)a local aneurysm with normal adjacent arteries; (2)generalized arterial ectasia; (3)local dilatation within an ectatic arterial system. Serial measurements have confirmed that growth rates increase as abdominal aortic aneurysms enlarge. The development of symptoms, risk of rupture, and clinical management of aortic aneurysms depend largely on their diameter, so it is convenient to discuss the natural history in relation to three somewhat arbitrary size ranges. It is important to remember, however, that the life-cycle of an individual aortic aneurysm is a continuous process from initial development to eventual rupture, the inevitability of which can be prevented only by elective surgery or prior death from some other disease. Looked at in this way, the description of an aortic aneurysm as a cancer of the artery is not quite so fanciful as it might seem. Very small aneurysms (less than 4.0 cm diameter) The prevalence of aneurysms less than 4.0 cm in diameter has become apparent only with the introduction of screening programmes for the disease. Two-thirds of all aneurysms detected by population screening are of this size, the reasons for which are interesting and help in understanding some important features of the disease. 1.The longest part of the life-cycle of any aneurysm will be when it is small, since incremental growth rates increase as the aneurysm enlarges. 2.Large aneurysms are more likely to be detected and present in routine clinical practice. 3.The larger an aneurysm becomes, the more likely it is to rupture and remove the patient beyond the benefits of screening. Very small aortic aneurysms generally enlarge much more slowly than the large aneurysms which present in routine clinical practice, and median growth rates of 0.2 cm/annum are usual. Clinical and autopsy evidence indicates that even these very small aneurysms do sometimes rupture, but there are insufficient data for the risk to be quantified accurately. Several clinical follow-up studies have shown no cases of rupture occurring in such patients while the aneurysms remained very small, but ruptures did occur as the aneurysms grew. Small aneurysms (4.0–5.9 cm diameter) Autopsy studies of patients with an abdominal aortic aneurysm showed that more than one-third of aneurysms less than 6.0 cm in diameter had ruptured and caused death. Follow-up studies of patients with aneurysms less than 6.0 cm diameter managed conservatively have demonstrated a rupture rate of 6 per cent per annum over 3 years. Rupture rates tend to increase progressively with the length of follow-up as the aneurysms continue to expand. For aneurysms of 4.0 to 4.9 cm diameter the mean expansion rate is 0.5 cm/annum, increasing to 0.7 cm/annum for aneurysms of 5.0 to 5.9 cm diameter. Large aneurysms (greater than 6.0 cm diameter) Nowadays, patients with aneurysms of more than 6.0 cm diameter are invariably advised to have elective surgery. What we know of the natural history of large aneurysms comes from studies before operative treatment became possible in 1951 or from contemporary studies in patients too ill to undergo major surgery. Studies from earlier in the twentieth century of clinical detection, and therefore presumably large and often symptomatic, abdominal aortic aneurysms report that most patients died within 3 years, and two-thirds of all deaths were from aneurysm rupture. Contemporary studies of patients with severe cardiac, respiratory, or other disease considered to make the risks of elective surgery unacceptably high show that aneurysm rupture accounts for half of all deaths. The majority of abdominal aortic aneurysms are asymptomatic and are often discovered incidentally. The patient may notice a pulsatile epigastric mass for the first time typically while lying relaxed in bed or his bath. Large aneurysms in thin patients are readily detected on routine abdominal examination, but most are now discovered by ultrasonography or abdominal radiography performed to investigate unrelated symptoms. Urologists are a frequent source of referrals for many vascular surgeons, since prostatic hypertrophy and aortic aneurysm are both disorders of the elderly and detection of the aneurysm by abdominal palpation is easier during anaesthesia for prostatic resection. It is likely that much of the apparent increased incidence of abdominal aortic aneurysm over the past decade is attributable to general adoption of abdominal ultrasonography as the routine first-line investigation for abdominal symptoms. In Britain, ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm still accounts for around a third of all operations for the disease, but in the United States the figure for major vascular centres is currently between 5 and 20 per cent. Community studies have shown that 60 per cent of patients with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms do not reach hospital alive, while some of those who do are not operated upon. In Britain rupture of the abdominal aortic aneurysm is sadly still the way in which more than half of all cases present. In both the northern and southern hemispheres there is a seasonal variation in the incidence of aortic rupture, with more cases occurring in the winter months. The reason for this pattern is unknown, but may be related to the similar observed seasonal variation in mean blood pressure. Symptoms and signs of aortic rupture Typically, rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm produces the sudden unheralded onset of severe central abdominal and lumbar back pain. Some patients may have experienced dull back pain of lesser severity for hours or days before, due to acute aneurysm expansion immediately prior to rupture. The lumbar pain may be worse on one side, commonly the left, because of the direction in which the retroperitoneal haematoma spreads. There may be a variable degree of psoas spasm, and sometimes pain in the lower limb, due to compression of lumbar or sciatic nerve roots. Rupture of an internal iliac (hypogastric) artery aneurysm commonly produces maximal pain in the buttock and, rarely, blood may track with the sciatic nerve through the greater sciatic foramen to produce a gluteal haematoma. Other early symptoms and signs depend on the volume of acute blood loss. Once the posterior peritoneum is breached, the patient will rapidly bleed to death into the peritoneal cavity, and most immediate deaths are due to intraperitoneal rupture. Survival after rupture depends on an intact posterior peritoneum, tissue tamponade, and early emergency surgery. When the connective tissue tamponade provided by the retroperitoneum is very effective, or the leak is small, only modest haemorrhage may occur, and these patients can survive long journeys to hospital and several days before exsanguinating haemorrhage occurs. The self-selection of such patients for transfer to distant tertiary referral centres may be partly responsible for the superior results of some units. In most cases, tamponade is less effective and arrests acute haemorrhage only when assisted by hypotension secondary to blood loss. These patients exhibit pallor, sweating, tachycardia, and anuria, and transfusion alone by raising the blood pressure will result in further haemorrhage. Immediate surgery to clamp the aorta above the site of rupture offers the only chance of survival. The great majority of abdominal aortic aneurysms will present as described above, but it is a common disease and any vascular surgeon will see several cases in his career, presenting in each of the following ways. Turbulent blood flow occurs in all aneurysms and slow transit of contrast medium is often seen on angiography. Turbulent flow contributes to the formation of the mural thrombus which is present in most aneurysms. Sometimes the thrombotic process is more extensive and the aorta may occlude. Occlusion usually does not involve the renal artery origins but is frequently accompanied by acute critical ischaemia of the lower limbs. Mural thrombus can become dislodged from within the aneurysm, perhaps as a consequence of direct abdominal trauma, and lodges as emboli in the arteries of the lower limb. One or two per cent of all emboli to the lower limb arise from this source. Around 10 per cent of abdominal aortic aneurysms are of the ‘inflammatory’ type, with a variable degree of perianeurysmal fibrosis. One or both ureters can become encased in fibrous tissue and occluded, either by being drawn medially towards the aortic aneurysm or, more commonly, where they cross an ‘inflammatory’ common iliac aneurysm. The patient may present with hydronephrosis or anuria and renal failure. This generally occurs in association with aortic rupture into the retroperitoneum, which consequently tends to dominate the clinical picture. In these circumstances the aortocaval fistula is usually only diagnosed peroperatively, when dramatic venous bleeding is seen on opening the aneurysm sac after aortic cross-clamping. Rarely, the aortic aneurysm may rupture only into the inferior vena cava and produce the characteristic clinical picture of venous engorgement and visible arterial pulsation in veins, accompanied by high-output cardiac failure. The majority of aortoenteric fistulae are seen as late complications of aortic surgery, and spontaneous fistulation into the gut from an aorta which has not been operated upon is extremely rare. Fistulae usually occur into the duodenum and present with haematemesis and melaena. The treatment of this condition is one of the most difficult in vascular surgical practice, since graft contamination and infection are inevitable. The fourth part of the duodenum and duodenojejunal flexure is intimately adjacent to the abdominal aorta. A large infrarenal aortic aneurysm may therefore be a cause of external compression of the duodenum and high intestinal obstruction. The symptoms are those of duodenal distension with nausea and vomiting, which tends to be intermittent since the obstruction is incomplete. Symptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysms usually demand urgent or early treatment. The extent of preoperative investigation, assessment, and medical treatment may therefore need to be curtailed and the patient prepared for surgery as well as possible in the time available. The most immediate need for surgery arises in the patient with a ruptured aneurysm, and this is contrasted below with management of the asymptomatic patient. The management of other symptomatic presentations of the disease will fall somewhere between these two extremes, depending on how compelling the need for surgery. Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm The key fact to remember is that these patients are in the process of bleeding to death from the moment rupture occurs. More than half will die within the hour from haemorrhage into the peritoneal cavity, and it is unlikely that these patients could ever be saved. The majority of patients arriving at front-line hospitals will be suffering from some degree of circulatory collapse with hypotension. In this condition blood transfusion without arresting the haemorrhage is as futile as trying to fill a bucket with a hole in the bottom. The diagnosis should be made from the history and clinical examination. Investigations such as abdominal ultrasound or radiography are unnecessary, time consuming, and liable to cause fatal delay. The patient should be transferred immediately to the operating theatre, the only permissible investigation being the taking of a blood sample for cross-matching. In the operating theatre all preparations for the operation are carried out before the induction of anaesthesia, which should take place only when the surgeon is poised to make the abdominal incision. Anaesthesia is liable to induce severe hypotension as the vasoconstrictor tone which has been maintaining circulation to vital organs is abolished. At this stage transfusion is given to the extent necessary to sustain essential functions. Only when the aorta above the rupture has been controlled and securely clamped should full transfusion to restore normal blood pressure be given. In a number of patients with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm the haemorrhage is so well contained by the surrounding connective tissue that there are no obvious clinical signs of blood loss. Such individuals can survive long journeys to tertiary referral centres and may live for several days before the connective tissue finally gives way and fatal haemorrhage occurs. These patients are liable to be misdiagnosed as suffering from other conditions, of which the most common are ureteric colic, pancreatitis, and sciatica. To establish the diagnosis, ultrasonography or computerized tomography may be required. Once the diagnosis is certain, operation is required with appropriate urgency since fatal haemorrhage can occur at any time. It is particularly tragic to see a patient who arrived at the hospital in good condition transferred to the operating theatre in a collapsed state after prolonged delay. Asymptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysm The only substantial reason for treating the patient with an asymptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysm is to prevent his premature death at some indeterminate future date from aneurysm rupture. At present the only treatment known to reduce this risk is elective surgical replacement of the aneurysmal aorta. A decision to recommend treatment must therefore be based on balancing the operative mortality and morbidity against the risk of aneurysm rupture. The limited information available on the natural history of abdominal aortic aneurysms shows a general relationship between aneurysm diameter and rupture risk. For abdominal aortic aneurysms of 4.0- to 5.9-cm diameter the risk of death from rupture is around 5 per cent/annum and for diameter above 6.0 cm is of the order of 15 per cent/annum. Since the disease is unlikely to produce any distressing symptoms unless the aneurysm ruptures, it seems unreasonable to ask a patient to accept an immediate operative mortality risk greater than the annual expectation of death from the untreated disease. It is essential therefore that every patient should be carefully investigated and the individual risks of surgery assessed so that an informed judgement can be made in each case. ‘Inflammatory’ abdominal aortic aneurysm Inflammatory aneurysms comprise around 10 per cent of all abdominal aortic aneurysms encountered in clinical practice but since they are commonly symptomatic, this probably over-represents the prevalence of the inflammatory variant of aortic aneurysms in the entire population. The pathogenesis of this disorder is still the subject of debate, but the original suggestion that the inflammation is a response to leakage of blood from contained aortic rupture is no longer tenable. The macroscopic appearance at operation is of two types: (1) an angry hyperaemic periaortic inflammation, or (2) a chronic fibrotic icing-sugar aortic wall, but both types may be seen at different points on the same aneurysm. Histologically, the wall of all aortic aneurysms shows evidence of an inflammatory response and the difference between the macroscopically inflamed and non-inflamed aneurysm is quantitative rather than qualitative. The condition is best regarded as a chronic periaortitis and has much in common with idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis. Recent work by Parums and Mitchinson in Cambridge, England has advanced the theory that the periaortitis is an immune response to antigens, principally ceroid, leaking from atheromatous plaques into the aortic adventitia. It is unclear whether the liberation of lipoproteins from atherosclerotic plaques is simply a consequence of aortic dilatation or a contributory factor to aneurysm formation. Inflammatory aneurysms may present with symptoms or signs suggestive of the diagnosis, or they may be discovered incidentally during investigation or at operation for an asymptomatic or ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. The belief that inflammatory aortic aneurysms are less likely to rupture is not supported by any evidence and should not weigh heavily in management decisions. Even the thickest aortic walls of inflammatory aneurysms tend to be thin posteriorly where they lie in contact with the vertebral bodies, and rupture at this point is not uncommon. The diagnosis of inflammatory abdominal aortic aneurysm should be suspected in patients presenting with a history of abdominal and back pain and who have a tender but unruptured aneurysm. An elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate will be present in half of those with an inflammatory aneurysm, and the diagnosis can be confirmed by demonstrating a thickened aortic wall on computerized tomography (Fig. 3) 269 or magnetic resonance imaging. In some patients one or both ureters may be obstructed by the periaortitis or, more commonly where they cross an inflammatory iliac aneurysm. Rarely, such patients may first present with renal failure, and the diagnosis of inflammatory aortic aneurysm be made secondarily. Hydronephrosis due to ureteric obstruction is usually best treated before elective aortic surgery, either by ureteric stenting or nephrostomy. The presence of a stent in the ureter has the additional advantage of providing a useful guide to identification at operation when the ureters are encased in dense fibrosis. In general, following replacement of the aortic aneurysm the ureteric obstruction will resolve and operative dissection of the ureters to free them from the periaortitis is seldom necessary. Operative replacement of an inflammatory abdominal aortic aneurysm is difficult but can be satisfactorily performed in most patients by modification of a standard operative technique, since, fortunately, in the majority of instances the neck of the aneurysm is relatively free of periaortitis. Rarely, an elective operation may be too hazardous to continue when the aorta above the aneurysm is also inflamed. In such patients a case can be made for abandoning the procedure and treating for 3 months with systemic steroids to suppress the periaortitis before a further attempt at aneurysm replacement. ‘He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day.’ Investigation of the aneurysm The purpose of these investigations is to determine accurately the size and extent of the aneurysm, to note the thickness of the aneurysm wall and the presence of any localized saccular dilatation, and, finally, to assess the importance of coexistent occlusive or aneurysmal arterial disease elsewhere. Ultrasonography of the abdominal aorta is the first-line investigation; its advantages are that it is cheap, freely available, accurate, reliable, and reproducible. Being non-invasive it can be repeated as often as required, either to confirm the original findings or to monitor growth of the aneurysm. Its main disadvantages are that it is observer-dependent and the permanent images produced can be difficult for anyone, other than the person who performed the scan, to interpret. Visualization of the suprarenal aorta and iliac arteries is often difficult and the study may be impossible in the grossly obese or when large amounts of bowel gas are present. It remains, however, the most useful investigation for measuring the diameter of an infrarenal aortic aneurysm. Computerized tomography produces excellent permanent records of cross-sectional anatomy which are easy to interpret (Fig. 4) 270. Its main uses are to discover the extent of any suprarenal aortic involvement and the thickness of the arterial wall, in order to detect ‘inflammatory’ aortic aneurysms. It can also be used to measure aortic diameter, but inaccuracies can occur if the section is not at right angles to the long axis of a tortuous aneurysmal aorta. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is available in some centres and the quality and definition of the images produced by the newer machines is now excellent. Since there is no radiation exposure it could well replace computerized tomography in many of its present uses. Angiography (Fig. 5) 271 is used mainly to discover the relationship of the renal arteries to the aneurysm and, by outlining the kidneys, may reveal relevant abnormalities, such as horseshoe or pelvic kidneys. When the aneurysm is large and blood flow turbulent or sluggish, it is sometimes difficult to obtain high-quality angiograms of the limb vessels from aortic injection of contrast, but this information can be of help in planning the extent of any arterial surgery required. The presence of iliac or femoral aneurysms or occlusive arterial disease in iliac, femoral, or more distal arteries of the limbs may be revealed. Investigation of the patient The purpose of these investigations is to discover how well the patient is likely to tolerate the trauma of a major arterial operation. Of particular importance are cardiac and respiratory function and the presence of carotid arterial or other coexistent disease. Attention is paid in the history to symptoms of angina, breathlessness at rest or on exertion and previous myocardial infarction. All patients should have routine monitoring of their blood pressure and an electrocardiogram (ECG). Hypertension should be controlled and, if the history or ECG suggests possible abnormalities of myocardial function or blood supply, further investigations are essential. Echocardiography is useful for detecting abnormalities of valve or heart wall function, and the technique of multigated acquisition nuclear imaging allows a ventricular ejection fraction to be calculated at rest and after exercise. In some patients, coronary angiography will be indicated, and any coronary arterial disease discovered may need treatment by angioplasty or coronary artery bypass grafting before aortic surgery can be contemplated safely. Evidence of recent myocardial infarction is an important reason to recommend delaying elective surgery for all but the largest aneurysms, since the chances of further myocardial infarction and death are substantially increased by operation within 6 months of the infarct. Other relative contraindications to surgery are a low ventricular ejection fraction at rest or one which falls markedly on exercise, indicating inadequate blood supply to the myocardium. Routine measures of respiratory function, such as peak expiratory flow and spirometry, are simple to perform as an extension of the normal clinical examination and should be a standard part of the assessment of all patients. More complex measurements of gas exchange are rarely necessary but, when required, the services of a respiratory function laboratory may prove helpful. Although poor lung function may be a contraindication to elective surgery, the presence of chronic obstructive airways disease is an important risk factor for aneurysm rupture. With the assistance of a chest physician, most patients can be improved to the point where the risks of elective surgery become acceptable. The presence of carotid artery stenosis presents a more difficult problem to resolve, and debate still goes on about whether carotid endarterectomy should be performed before, during, or after aortic aneurysm surgery, or sometimes, indeed, whether it should be performed at all. Each case will need to be resolved on its merits, depending on the relative importance of the aortic aneurysm and carotid stenosis in the individual patient, but, in general, the patient with an asymptomatic internal carotid artery stenosis is not considered at risk of having a stroke during aortic surgery. Because the majority of patients with an abdominal aortic aneurysm are old coexistent disease is common. Malignant disease discovered during investigation for the aneurysm presents a particular problem. It is difficult to be dogmatic about the treatment priority, but a rationale for therapy is outlined here. Generally, primary treatment for the cancer is given first, since delay is liable to reduce the chances of cure progressively while, on the other hand, provided rupture has not occurred, a large aneurysm is as easily replaced as a small aneurysm. If primary treatment of the cancer seems to have been successful, then the aortic aneurysm is replaced as soon as the patient has recovered from cancer surgery. If treatment of the cancer is definitely non-curative and life expectation is limited, aneurysm surgery is seldom advised, since in most patients death from aneurysm rupture will be a much better alternative than from carcinoma. Operative mortality and morbidity In the decade after the first replacement of an abdominal aortic aneurysm in 1951, operative mortality was high, at around 15 per cent. Over the past 30 years, as a result of surgical and anaesthetic refinements of technique and better pre- and postoperative management, elective operative mortality has been reduced to under 5 per cent in many vascular units and some centres are reporting less than 2 per cent. It would be a mistake to assume that the low mortality currently achieved in specialist units represents the common experience, and there is evidence that in many hospitals a figure of 10 per cent or more is still not unusual. Approximately 1 in 20 abdominal aortic aneurysms extends close to or above the origin of the renal arteries. Surgery in these cases may involve clamping the aorta above the renal arteries and sometimes their reimplantation. Operating on suprarenal aneurysms requires special skill and techniques, and inevitably is associated with greater hazard than the uncomplicated infrarenal aneurysm. Elective aortic surgery remains a major operation and, even in the uncomplicated case, morbidity is considerable. Most patients can be discharged from hospital within 10 days of operation, but few will be restored to complete well-being in less than 2 months. Currently, there is debate about the long-term outlook for those who have undergone successful aortic aneurysm replacement. Some follow-up studies have shown a similar life expectation to that of the general population of the same age. This conclusion is disputed by others and seems to be inherently improbable given the known association of abdominal aortic aneurysm with a number of other diseases that impair life expectancy. There is no doubt, however, that the patient who survives surgical replacement of his aneurysm has a greater life expectation than one whose aneurysm is left untreated. As with any operation, there are many variations in technique used by individual surgeons for routine operations, together with specific variations which may be employed to deal with special situations encountered. The standard techniques used by the author successfully over many years are described below and brief notes on useful or alternative techniques are appended after the main account. Elective abdominal aortic aneurysm replacement Preparation for the operation begins days or sometimes weeks before, to ensure that all the clinical information required is obtained and the patient is in the best state of health achievable at the time of operation. The main hazard peroperatively is sudden change in circulatory haemodynamics as a consequence of clamping and unclamping of the aorta, or blood loss. It is therefore essential that adequate monitoring of cardiac function and intravascular volume is in place before surgery begins. The patient is placed supine on the operating table and the skin is prepared with antiseptic from the nipples to the knees—particular care must be made to ensure cleaning of the external genitalia. The operation field extends from the xiphisternum to mid-thighs, with the genitalia being securely excluded by towelling and the use of adherent skin drapes. A vertical midline abdominal incision is made from sternum to symphysis pubis and the peritoneal cavity opened. A complete inspection of all the intra-abdominal organs is made to exclude other pathology. The small intestine is retracted to the right and draped from the operative field, usually being retained within the abdomen, but in the obese better exposure is obtained if the intestine is exteriorized within a plastic ‘gut’ bag. Minimal dissection of the retroperitoneum is employed to limit bleeding and it is unnecessary to mobilize adherent duodenum. The neck of the aneurysm is identified by palpation and the overlying peritoneum and fascia divided in the midline until the aorta is exposed. The inferior mesenteric vein is displaced to the left and seldom needs to be divided. Midline dissection continues until the left renal vein is identified, and fascial division is continued transversely at the lower border of the vein to free it and allow its retraction if required. Blunt dissection on both sides of the aorta in a strictly vertical plane continues until the vertebral body is encountered. Intravenous heparin is administered and the neck of the aorta clamped anteroposteriorly. When the common iliac arteries are not aneurysmal, their dissection is easily accomplished by division of peritoneum and fascia over their anterior surfaces with blunt finger dissection down each side. The vessels are clamped anteroposteriorly. Common and internal iliac arteries may be aneurysmal and, in these circumstances, the external iliac arteries are clamped and back-bleeding from the internal iliac arteries controlled after the aortic aneurysm is opened. The aortic aneurysm is inspected through the intact posterior peritoneum and the inferior mesenteric artery is oversewn with a transfixion suture at its origin. The posterior peritoneum and the aneurysm are then incised in the midline from the aneurysm neck to the aortic bifurcation, and the mural thrombus evacuated. At each end of the incision transverse scissor cuts are made so that half the circumference of the aorta is divided. Bleeding from lumbar vessels is controlled by direct pressure until permanently arrested by oversewing with transfixion sutures. At this stage the operative field should be bloodless and the ends of the aorta can be inspected and cleared of adherent thrombus. In 80 per cent of cases a tube graft can be used, but where the iliac arteries are aneurysmal a bifurcated ‘trouser’ graft will be required. In the latter case it is preferable, and usually satisfactory, to anastomose each limb of the graft either to the termination of the common iliac artery or to the external iliac artery. It is desirable to retain circulation into at least one internal iliac artery to minimize the risk of gut or spinal cord ischaemia. The graft is stitched to the neck of the aneurysm, using an inlay technique and a monofilament prolene continuous suture. Exposure is improved by inserting a self-retaining rake retractor within the aneurysm sac. Three sutures are placed on each side of the midline of the aorta and graft posteriorly and the graft is ‘parachuted’ into place. The suture is continued on each side to the midline anteriorly, particular care being taken accurately to place the corner sutures in the lateral walls of the aorta. The anastomosis is tested for leaks at this stage, since subsequent haemorrhage from the posterior wall is more difficult to deal with. The tube graft is cut to the appropriate length and the distal anastomosis made in exactly the same fashion. A vital step in the procedure is to ensure that no particulate material, atheroma, thrombus, or tissue remains inside the graft or iliac arteries proximal to the arterial clamps. Graft and proximal iliac arteries are therefore irrigated thoroughly with saline before the anastomosis is completed. It is unnecessary to release the distal arterial clamps to achieve this end, and doing so may precipitate arterial thrombosis by exposing blood in the distal vessels to tissue thromboplastin from the operation site. Five minutes before the anastomoses are completed the anaesthetist is warned that restoration of circulation to the legs is imminent so that circulatory volume can be appropriately and rapidly augmented when required. One distal clamp only is removed and the aortic clamp slowly released. This is a dangerous phase of the operation, and flow through the graft is titrated against the patient's blood pressure and heart filling pressure. Only when pressures are normal, with full restoration of blood flow to one limb, is the second distal clamp slowly released. The operation is completed by meticulous haemostasis, and reversal of anticoagulation may be necessary to achieve this end. Many surgeons use a transverse, upper abdominal, dome-shaped incision for abdominal access. The abdominal wall muscles are cut in the line of the incision, which commences midway between the umbilicus and sternum and runs parallel to the costal margins. It is claimed that postoperative respiratory complications are reduced by this incision but it is more time consuming to make and close, bleeding is greater, and access to the iliac arteries is difficult. The patient is positioned corkscrewed on the operating table with the pelvis horizontal and the shoulders vertical. An incision is made from the tip of the left twelfth rib to the midline below the umbilicus. Abdominal wall muscles are cut in the line of the incision. The extraperitoneal plane is identified and the peritoneum retracted medially to expose the aorta. The left kidney may be retracted with the peritoneum or allowed to remain lying on the psoas muscle. Advocates of this approach point to the facility of the technique in obese patients and claim reduced postoperative morbidity. The disadvantage is that exposure of the right common iliac artery cannot readily be achieved. The perirenal aneurysm neck Aneurysms extending substantially above the origins of the renal arteries are discussed in the section on thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms, but aneurysms with a neck at, or immediately above, the origin of the renal arteries can be dealt with by slight modification of the operative approach to the common infrarenal aortic aneurysm. The problem may be encountered unexpectedly at operation since, because of tortuousity of the aneurysmal aorta, many aneurysms appear on computerized tomographic scanning to extend above the renal arteries but experience shows that the majority prove at operation to be definitely infrarenal. The aorta needs to be dissected and clamped above one or both renal arteries. To achieve this exposure the left renal vein must be freed from the aorta and retracted either superiorly or, occasionally, inferiorly. It will be necessary to divide either the left gonadal vein or sometimes the left adrenal vein to permit safe retraction, but division of the renal vein itself is rarely required. The anastomosis between graft and aorta is accomplished expeditiously with the renal arteries being incorporated within the proximal aorta as a single or double short tongue. After completion of the proximal anastomosis, the clamp is reapplied to the graft below the renal arteries and blood flow to the kidneys restored before attention is turned to the distal aortic anastomosis. It is claimed that the retroperitoneal approach allows the perirenal aortic aneurysm to be dealt with as easily as the infrarenal aortic aneurysm and is part of the advocacy for general adoption of this approach. Types of graft In the early days of aortic surgery, aortic homografts were widely used but were abandoned because their use was inconvenient and they were prone to aneurysmal degeneration. They have been obsolete for 30 years and have only recently been reintroduced and advocated for use in the presence of established synthetic graft infection. Synthetic grafts in common use are of woven or knitted Dacron or polytetrafluoroethylene. Woven Dacron is stiffer and less permeable than the knitted material. The problem of blood leaking at operation can be overcome by coating the knitted graft in various ways, but this adds to the cost disadvantage compared with the woven material. Polytetrafluoroethylene grafts are impermeable but suffer from two disadvantages. First, the aortic body of a trouser graft must be cut to the correct length with minimal tolerance if the legs are to lie at an acceptable angle. Secondly, polytetrafluoroethylene is prone to leak at stitch holes for a prolonged time, a problem which is increased when a large needle is used. If a trouser graft is essential, anastomosis of the limbs to the iliac arteries is preferable, since this avoids additional incisions in the groins and consequently reduces the risk of contamination of the graft and graft infection. The external iliac arteries invariably and mysteriously remain uninvolved by aneurysmal change, although they may become occluded by atherosclerosis. Clear indications for aortofemoral grafting are the presence of large femoral artery aneurysms and external iliac artery stenosis or occlusion. Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm replacement Two-thirds of ruptured aneurysms leak either directly or secondarily into the peritoneal cavity within an hour or so and cause death from exsanguination. These patients usually die at home or on their way to hospital and thus do not come to surgery. Successful surgery is possible only because of temporary tamponade of the rupture by tissue pressure in the retroperitoneum, assisted by hypotension. These patients are on the brink of death and sustain fatal haemorrhage when the peritoneum ruptures, tissue tamponade fails, or the blood pressure is increased by injudicious transfusion before the rupture is secured. Most lives are saved by immediate transfer from emergency room to the operating theatre, but the operative mortality rate improves exponentially as the time between rupture and surgery increases by selecting for treatment only those with stable, contained rupture. The patient is prepared for surgery while conscious on the operating table. Induction of anaesthesia should occur only when the surgeon is poised ready to make the incision. Blood pressure should be maintained at no more than 100 mm systolic until the aorta is controlled. This ideal may require rapid transfusion in order to maintain cerebral and myocardial perfusion on anaesthetic induction when compensatory vasomotor tone is suddenly relaxed. On opening the peritoneal cavity the posterior peritoneum is exposed by displacing the small intestine. The aorta above the aneurysm is identified by palpation and occluded by direct compression with the surgeon's left hand against the vertebral bodies. Only when the aorta has been securely occluded by compression should the posterior peritoneum over the upper part of the aneurysm be incised. The wall of the aneurysm should be exposed by sharp dissection with scissors through the haematoma and connective tissue, and only when the aortic adventitia is clearly identified is it permissible to use blunt finger dissection in the periadventitial plane to clear the neck of the aneurysm. Only when the neck of the aneurysm is securely occluded is it permissible to release the occlusion of aorta between fingers and vertebral bodies. The operation may then proceed as for an elective aortic aneurysm replacement. Death from ruptured aneurysm is a direct consequence of blood loss. Patients will rarely survive if additional blood loss is caused by extensive, unnecessary, hasty, or careless dissection. Iatrogenic blood loss is most likely to occur from tearing of the left gonadal, left adrenal, or left renal vein by attempts to occlude the aorta by dissection of the aneurysm neck which is too hasty, too wide, and too high. Control of blood flow into the aneurysm must be achieved before any dissection is attempted. High aneurysm rupture When rupture of the aneurysm occurs close to the neck, it may prove difficult to dissect the neck clearly to allow initial aortic clamping at this level. In this situation the aortic neck can be identified from within the lumen of the aneurysm and a large Foley urethral catheter inserted. The balloon of the catheter is inflated in the aneurysm neck and tamponade of the aorta against the vertebral bodies is slowly released to confirm that the balloon is securely impacted. Careful external two-handed dissection of the neck of the aneurysm can then be performed and the balloon catheter replaced by an aortic clamp. Collin J. Aortic aneurysm screening and management. In: Johnson CD, Taylor I, eds. Recent advances in surgery. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone, 1990. Collin J, Araujo L, Walton J, Lindsell D. Oxford Screening Programme for abdominal aortic aneurysm in men aged 65–74 years. Lancet, 1988; 2: 613–15. Greenhalgh RM, Mannick JA. eds. The cause and management of aneurysms. Philadelphia: WB Saunders, 1990. Parums DV, Mitchinson MJ. Serum antibodies to oxidised LDL and ceroid in chronic periaortitis. J Pathol, 1987; 151: 57. Pierce GE, guest ed. Abdominal aortic aneurysms. Surg Clin N Am, 1989; 69: 4. Tilson MD, A perspective of research in abdominal aortic aneurysm disease with a unifying hypothesis. In: Bergan JJ, Yao JST, eds. Aortic Surgery. Philadelphia: WB Saunders, 1989. Veith FJ, ed. Current critical problems in vascular surgery. St. Louis: Quality Medical Publishing, 1989.
his friend a poet as great as Virgil. But the younger Pliny gently says that he wrote poems with greater diligence than talent, and that, when, according to the fashion of the time, he recited them to his friends, “ he sometimes found out what men really thought of them.” It is indeed strange that the poem lived on. Silius is never mentioned by ancient writers after Pliny except Sidonius, who, under different conditions and at a much lower level, was such another as he. Since the discovery of Silius by Poggio, no modern enthusiast has arisen to sing his praises. His poem has been rarely edited since the 18th century. Yet, by the purity of his taste and his Latin in an age when taste was fast becoming vicious and Latin corrupt, by his presentation to us of a type of a thousand vanished Latin epics, and by the historic aspects of his subject, Silius merits better treatment from scholars than he has received. The general reader he can hardly interest again. He is indeed of imitation all compact, and usually dilutes what he borrows; he may add a new beauty, but new strength he never gives. Hardly a dozen lines anywhere are without an echo of Virgil, and there are frequent admixtures of Lucretius, Horace, Ovid, Lucan, Homer, Hesiod and many other poets still extant. If we could reconstitute the library of Silius we should probably find that scarcely an idea or a phrase in his entire work was wholly his own. The raw material of the Punica was supplied in the main by the third decade of Livy, though Silius may have consulted other historians of the Hannibalic war. Such facts as are used are generally presented with their actual circumstances unchanged, and in their historic sequence. The spirit of the Punic times is but rarely misconceived—as when to secret voting is attributed the election of men like Flaminius and Varro, and distinguished Romans are depicted as contending in a gladiatorial exhibition. Silius clearly intended the poem to consist of twenty-four books, like the Iliad and the Odyssey, but after the twelfth he hurries in visible weariness to the end, and concludes with seventeen. The general plan of the epic follows that of the Iliad and the Aeneid. Its theme is conceived as a duel between two mighty nations, with parallel dissensions among the gods. Scipio and Hannibal are the two great heroes who take the place of Achilles and Hector on the one hand and of Aeneas and Turnus on the other, while the minor figures are all painted with Virgilian or Homeric pigments. In the delineation of character our poet is neither very powerful nor very consistent. His imagination was too weak to realize the actors with distinctness and individuality. His Hannibal is evidently at the outset meant for an incarnation of cruelty and treachery, the embodiment of all that the vulgar Roman attached to the name " Punic." But in the course of the poem the greatness of Hannibal is borne in upon the poet, and his feeling of it betrays itself in many touches. Thus he names Scipio "the great Hannibal of Ausonia"; he makes Juno assure the Carthaginian leader that if fortune had only permitted him to be born a Roman he would have been admitted to a place among the gods; and, when the ungenerous monster of the first book accords in the fifteenth a splendid burial to Marcellus, the poet cries, " You would fancy it was a Sidonian chief who had fallen. " Silius deserves little pity for the failure of his attempt to make Scipio an equipoise to Hannibal and the counterpart in personal prowess and prestige of Achilles. He becomes in the process almost as mythical a figure as the medieval Alexander. The best drawn of the minor characters are Fabius Cunctator, an evident copy of Lucan's Cato, and Paullus, the consul killed at Cannae, who fights, hates and dies like a genuine man. Clearly it was a matter of religion with Silius to repeat and adapt all the striking episodes of Homer and Virgil. Hannibal must have a shield of marvellous workmanship like Achilles and Aeneas; because Aeneas descended into Hades and had a vision of the future history of Rome, so must Scipio have his revelation from heaven; Trebia, choked with bodies, must rise in ire like Xanthus, and be put to flight by Vulcan; for Virgil's Camilla there must be an Asbyte, heroine of Saguntum; the beautiful speech of Euryalus when Nisus seeks to leave him is too good to be thrown away—furbished up a little, it will serve as a parting address from Imilce to her husband Hannibal. The descriptions of the numerous battles are made up in the main, according to epic rule, of single combats—wearisome sometimes in Homer, wearisome oftener in Virgil, painfully wearisome in Silius. The different component parts of the poem are on the whole fairly well knit together, and the transitions are not often needlessly abrupt; yet occasionally incidents and episodes are introduced with all the irrelevancy of the modern novel. The interposition of the gods is, however, usually managed with dignity and appropriateness. As to diction and detail, we miss, in general, power rather than taste. The metre runs on with correct smooth monotony, with something always of the Virgilian sweetness, though attenuated, but nothing of the Virgilian variety and strength. The dead level of literary execution is seldom broken by a rise into the region of genuine pathos and beauty, or by a descent into the ludicrous or the repellent. There are few absurdities, but the restraining force is trained perception and not a native sense of humour, which, ever present in Homer, not entirely absent in Virgil, and sometimes finding grim expression in Lucan, fails Silius entirely. The address of Anna, Dido's sister, to Juno compels a smile. Though deified on her sister's death, and for a good many centuries already an inhabitant of heaven, Anna meets Juno for the first time on the outbreak of the Second Punic War, and deprecates the anger of the queen of heaven for having deserted the Carthaginians and attached herself to the Roman cause. Hannibal's parting address to his child is also comical: he recognizes in the " heavy wailing " of the year-old babe " the seeds of rages like his own." But Silius might have been forgiven for a thousand more weaknesses than he has if in but a few things he had shown strength. The grandest scenes in the history before him fail to lift him up; his treatment, for example, of Hannibal's Alpine passage falls immensely below Lucan's vigorous delineation of Cato's far less stirring march across the African deserts. But in the very weaknesses of Silius we may discern merit. He at least does not try to conceal defects of substance by contorted rhetorical conceits and feebly forcible exaggerations. In his ideal of what Latin expression should be he comes near to his contemporary Quintilian, and resolutely holds aloof from the tenor of his age. Perhaps his want of success with the men of his time was not wholly due to his faults. His self-control rarely fails him; it stands the test of the horrors of war, and of Venus working her will on Hannibal at Capua. Only a few passages here and there betray the true silver Latin extravagance. In the avoidance of rhetorical artifice and epigrammatic antithesis Silius stands in marked contrast to Lucan, yet at times he can write with point. Regarded merely as a poet he may not deserve high praise; but, as he is a unique specimen and probably the best of a once numerous class, the preservation of his poem among the remains of Latin Literature is a fortunate accident. The poem was discovered in a MS., possibly at Constance, by Poggio, in 1416 or 1417; from this now lost MS. all existing MSS., which belong entirely to the 15th century, are derived. A valuable MS. of the 8th or 9th century, found at Cologne by L. Carrion in the latter part of the 16th century, disappeared soon after its discovery. Two editiones principes appeared at Rome in 1471; the principal editions since have been those of Heinsius (1600), Drakenborch (1717), Ernesti (Leipzig, 1791) and L. Bauer (1890). The Punica is included in the second edition of the Corpus poetarum Latinorum. A useful variorum edition is that of Lemaire (Paris, 1823). Recent writing on Silius is generally in the form of separate articles or small pamphlets; but see H. E. Butler, Post-Augustan Poetry (1909), chap. x. (J. S. R.) SILK, a fibrous substance produced by many insects, principally in the form of a cocoon or covering within which the creatures are enclosed and protected during the period of their principal transformations. The webs and nests, &c, formed by spiders are also of silk. But the fibres used for manufacturing purposes are exclusively produced by the mulberry silk-moth of China, Bombyx mori, and a few other moths closely allied to that insect. Among the Chinese the name of the silkworm is “si,” Korean “soi”; to the ancient Greeks it became known
The poem “What happens to a dream deferred? ” by Longboats Hughes leaves the reader wondering as to what happens to their dreams that were never fulfilled. It causes the reader to take a good look at themselves because it causes the reader to really wonder. Was an effort really made to achieve their dreams? Were the dreams attached to goals? Why weren’t the dreams ever fulfilled? Is there still time to fulfill these dreams? This poem is like a wakeup call to those whose dreams were never oilfield. Dreams are a goal in life it is not merely something that comes to us as we sleep. Dreams is the driving force that keeps us going. Dreams are the reason we wake up in the morning to go to work and go to school. Sometimes a dream could be the desire of wanting to marry someone special that was never fulfilled, and kept us wondering why it never happened. A dream could be purchasing a new home or buying a new car. Regardless to the dream we all nave them and dreams is the reason why most of us wake up in the morning. Thesis statement: A dream deferred goes not mean a dream denied. A dream could be a career goal or it could be something as simple as wanting to loose wait or gain more muscle. Either way we look upon it, dreams is a force that keeps us going. An unfulfilled dream causes depression low self-esteem and in some people weight gain. In the beginning of the poem the writer uses a question “Does it dry up/like a raisin in the sun? The writer uses this question to open the eyes of the reader. The writer also uses this question as a metaphor to illustrate that a deferred ream turns into something that is different from what it was. Some people believe that God speaks to them in dreams, therefore when the dream is postponed what really happens to the dream? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun and turns into something else? Or is it that the writer wants to the reader to see that there is still hope for their dreams because a grape turning into a raisin is not a bad thing. It simply turned into something else. The raisin could still be eaten and still taste good. It goes well with cereal and can be used in a cake or cookie batter. Some cultures use raisins as a seasoning in their food. Raisins are also sweet and do not go bad. Every person in life whether they are women, children or grown men have a dream that they want fulfilled. Dreams are a driving force that we use to hope for a better future. However what happens to a person when the dream is deferred? That is what the writer of the poem wants us to ask ourselves what happens? Does it dry up/like a raisin in the sun? Drying up in the sun does not sound like a good thing. The writer makes it the situation sound hopeless. What comes to mind when one thinks of something drying in the sun? Maybe it reminds us of some of the agony of being in the desert heat and thirsting for water. One may think of the discomforts of the hot sun and needing to cool off under a tree for some shade. Some may want to take a cold shower to freshen up. The heat will make us sweat and smelly giving us the desire to want to freshen up. Or fester like a sore. Festering like a sore sounds like a sore that does not go away. Like a blister that Just gets worse regardless of the attention one may be giving it. Maybe the writer wanted the reader to sense what it is like being in an uncomfortable situation, like being in a situation of despair the feeling of hopelessness. And then run? Then the blister runs in other words the writer wants the reader to ask him or herself what could possibly get worse. First one dries up like a raisin then having to deal with a bad sore that refuses to heal. A blister that is now running is a blister that is now out of control. Does it stink like rotten meat? Stinking like rotten meat is meat that has been sitting round for to long and now it stinks and is no longer edible. If one tries to eat the rotten meat one will surely get sick from the bad meat. Rotten meat also reminds the reader of the bad smell that evades the air very unappealing smell. When one smells bad meat the last thing that comes to mind is eating that bad meat. One may also smell rotten meat trot a dead animal laying at the side to the street, like a dead cat or dog that was run over by a car and left there to rot with flies all over it and drying up in the hot sun. Or crust and sugar over-like a syrupy sweet? Now the temperature of the poem changes from rotten meat to something sweet. The writer is giving the reader a sense of hope, maybe the dream never died. Maybe there is hope for the dreamer. There is hope for the dream and something sweet is going to happen. The writer wanted to change the mood of the poem by adding something sweet into the mix. Maybe the writer wanted the reader to keep their hopes alive and don’t give up on their dreams. Maybe it Just sags like a heavy load. Again the mood changes in the poem; moieties a dream could be a heavy load on our backs. Is it best to Just let it go and move on with our lives? Sometimes a dream could be demanding a lot from us. Sometimes a dream could be to risky. The time and sacrifice of being away from the family for long periods of time could take a toll on ones body and mind. Should one continue carrying this heavy load or should the dreamer Just let it go. How much longer can the dreamer carry on with this heavy load on their backs? The writer is giving the reader a lot to think about when it comes to holding on to our dreams.
Here we have a fun and frustrating little game that exploits our engineering skills. How to build a stable bridge is what this game is all about. At each level of the game you're given a limited amount of imaginary cash with which to purchase your beams and supports. It's usually just enough to get the job done, if you do it right. Which isn't so easy. First of all, build a beam that spans the gap. However, unless the span is shorter than what we're given in these simulations, the compression and tension forces will cause the beam to collapse under its own weight (causing all of the little cartoon people to heedlessly run headlong into the gaping chasm). So, in order to support the beam, the trick is to build a truss. The truss is a structure that helps support the weight of the beam by distributing the stresses throughout the truss supports. To make an effective truss it's crucial to build it in triangular structures. You can test this for yourself by building little model bridge support pieces out of popsicle sticks. Make some popsicle rectangles, and popsicle triangles. You'll probably find that, of the two, it's much harder to crack your triangles. Toothpick or popsicle-stick bridge building is a popular middle and high school science project, so anyone out there going for the record (or a good grade), remember those triangles. In terms of basic physics, bridge building falls under the heading of "statics." Just as it implies, statics is the physics of stationary objects. In order for an object (like a bridge) to be in "static equilibrium," two conditions must be met. 1) The net force acting on the object must add to zero, and 2) the net torque must also be zero. If either of these conditions doesn't hold up, then your object will accelerate, which is a really bad thing for a bridge to do. The trick is to arrange each piece of your bridge so that the forces and torques can balance without exceeding the strength of any individual piece. Now go out there and build us a simulated bridge! Adam Weiner is the author of Don't Try This at Home! The Physics of Hollywood Movies.
Here's a simple way that we practice letters. Each week we do a letter of the week and have a corresponding worksheet. The day that we don't do the worksheet, we do poke letters. I print a large upper case and lower case letter on a paper. Then the kids use a skewer to poke the letter. As they poke it, they alternate between saying the letter name and the letter sound. Pretty easy and a good way to practice our letters.
NASA hopes to have a manned mission to Mars by 2033, Nature reported Wednesday. Part of an internal NASA study, the Mars Program Planning Group has been charged with revitalizing the agency’s Mars Program, as well as getting the human and robotic sides of NASA to collaborate on the initiative. While the Obama Administration has stated that it would like a manned mission to Mars by the early 2030s, this is the first specific date that has been put forth. Orlando Figueroa, head of the Mars Program Planning Group, presented the plan to the National Academies committee of astrobiology and planetary science. Figueroa’s group will submit a final plan to NASA in August. Other countries have ambitious goals as well. This week the Global Space Exploration conference was held and representatives from both Russia and Japan said they hope to launch more manned missions to the moon, as well as achieve more permanent lunar endeavors. “We’re not talking about repeating what mankind achieved 40 years ago,” the head of Russia’s Space Agency Vladimir Popovkin said through a translator. “We’re talking about establishing permanent bases.” The Pentagon’s research wing hopes to go even further into space. DARPA awarded the Dorothy Jemison Foundation $500,000 for its 100 Year Starship initiative which aims to make interstellar space travel a reality by 2112. The first step for the organization is hosting a public symposium in September to allow scientists and engineers to present papers and discuss the challenges of the project. “Yes, it can be done. Our current technology arc is sufficient,” Former NASA astronaut Mae Jemison said in a statement. “100 Year Starship is about building the tools we need to travel to another star system in the next hundred years. We’re embarking on a Journey across time and space. If my language is dramatic, it is because this project is monumental. This is a global aspiration. And each step of the way, its progress will benefit life on earth. Our team is both invigorated and sobered by the confidence DARPA has in us to start an independent, private initiative to help make interstellar travel a reality."
Refugio de Vida Silvestre La Flor The Refugio de Vida Silvestra La Flor is also known as the La Flor Reserve or the Refuge of Wild Life. It is located approximately 150 kilometers from Managua. The roads to Refugio de Vida Silvestra La Flor are easily navigated. However, the roads become more difficult during the rainy season when the small rivers that cross the road swell with water making crossing them a rather daunting task for standard passenger vehicles. The La Flor Reserve has been managed and overseen by the Cocibolca Foundation since its establishment in 1983. Deforestation has taken place across Nicaragua, leaving many areas forestless and causing tropical forests and dry caducifolio to almost disappear completely. Fortunately, the Refuge of Wild Life has a small forest area within the reserve. This small stretch of forest is protected by the reserve and it is hoped that it can be conserved for future generations. The Refugio de Vida Silvestre La Flor is better known for its influx of Olive Ridley turtles during the months of July through to December. The beautiful, undisturbed beaches in the La Flor Reserve, provide the protection and habitat needed for the successful nesting and laying of eggs. Even though Nicaragua has one of the biggest Olive Ridley turtle populations, they are still threatened by human interference due to nest robbing, which has a significant influence on the turtle population. Many visitors and locals flock to La Flor to witness the arrival of approximately 30,000 female Olive Ridley turtles. It is not only the Olive Ridley turtles that can be seen at the Refugio de Vida Silvestre La Flor. Many different turtle species use this reserve for nesting, including some very rare leatherback turtles. The Refugio de Vida Silvestra La Flor is open all year round and there is a minimal entrance fee which is payable at the gate. Turtle enthusiasts can enquire about the fees and facilities in regard to a night on the beach, where visitors are able to camp for an evening. The Refugio de Vida Silverstre La Flor is a very important nature reserve as it protects and conserves a diverse range of very rare flower species including the survival of the oceans’ gentle souls who would not survive without protected areas such as the La Flor Reserve.
ENSO--the El Nino-Southern Oscillation--plays a huge role in governing short-term climate fluctuations from Peru to India. Accordingly, how it is being affected by climate change is one of the really big issues in ocean-atmospheric science. Hoping to cast light on that issue, the pioneering glaciologist Lonnie Thompson of Ohio State University and Dwi Susanto of Columbia University's Lamont Doherty Observatory are getting set to head for Indonesia's Puncak Jaya, the highest mountain between the Andes and the Himalayas and the world's highest island mountain, period. They will take ice cores, whose annual "rings" will tell them how much precipitation fell in any given year, while changes in the isotopic composition of the water record yearly changes in temperature. The cores may also contain, says Columbia's Earth Institute, pollens, volcanic ash, wildfire soot, plant debris, insects, and other animals--including possibly human remains. Thompson, the first scientist to ever take cores from tropical mountain glaciers, has in the last four decades explored many such glaciers all over the world, including on Africa's famed Mt. Kilimanjaro; he is a leading authority of the Himalayan glaciers, a subject of especially intense controversy of late. Generally tons of equipment have to be carried up mountains and back, a challenge that has stimulated technical and logistical innovations. Susanto, says Columbia, "has focused on studying how ENSO affects the gigantic, highly changeable flow of Pacific waters through the torturous straits formed by Indonesia's 17,000 islands into the Indian Ocean, and how this in turn links to changing climate. Studies by Susanto and others. . .have shown that during the cold, or La Nina phase of ENSO, the so-called Indonesian throughflow may increase 10 times over." On this expedition, Thompson and Susanto, having brought four tons of equipment to the top of Puncak Jaya, plan to drill six 100-millimeter cores to bedrock. The cores will be shipped to Thompson's ice laboratory at Ohio State for analysis. Progress with work can be followed on the expedition's blog.
Bloomberg Features Dr. Wright Op-Ed An op-ed that explores how the Woonsocket Investment Company swayed the South Dakota electorate to its shareholders’ advantage, resulting in the decision to locate the capital of South Dakota in Pierre instead of Huron in 1890 by Dr. Robert Wright, Nef Family Chair of Political Economy and director of the Thomas Willing Institute at Augustana, is featured in "Echoes," the business history blog of Bloomberg View. How a Corporation Legally Bought an Election By Dr. Robert Wright Recent changes in campaign-finance laws, prompted by the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case of 2010, have some people worried that corporations can now legally buy a presidential election. Of course, directly paying citizens to vote for a certain candidate seems unlikely. Ballots are secret and can’t easily be traded, and voting contracts couldn’t be monitored for compliance, much less enforced in court. Under certain conditions, however, companies can almost buy votes outright – and it has happened before. Any fifth-grader worthy of promotion can tell you the capital of South Dakota is Pierre. What few people of any grade can tell you is why, in 1889 and 1890, South Dakotans voted to make that tiny hamlet their temporary, and then their permanent, state capital. The story of these two obscure plebiscites in South Dakota is one of the oddest in the annals of campaign finance. Pierre was located at the geographical center of the state, more or less, but was in the far western part demographically as most South Dakotans, then as now, lived in the eastern third of the state. In fact, Pierre was at the end of the Chicago and North Western line, directly across the Missouri River from a huge Indian reservation that still bubbled with trouble. (The massacre at Wounded Knee occurred in late December 1890.) Money Pours In Pierre’s main rival for the capital, Huron, was also on the Chicago and North Western line but lay 110 miles to the east, far from potentially dangerous natives and close to the prospective state’s demographic center. Huron was voted the temporary capital in 1885 and by 1890 was its de facto convention center due to its location. Even denizens of the Black Hills, in the far western part of the region, found it easier to get to Huron than to Pierre, which from the west was accessible only by horse and wagon through desolate tracts. Moreover, Huron was larger than Pierre and better appointed with hotels, newspapers and telephone exchanges. Money soon poured into the campaign. The winning town was sure to experience a real-estate boom as the state government built a governor’s mansion, statehouse, court building and other offices. Moreover, government employment would bring with it long-term local economic stability. Much of the campaign money canceled itself out as boosters of both towns competed to outdo each other with banners, buttons, newspaper puff pieces, parades, rallies and songs. Some resources, however, were used more effectively by aligning the interests of voters statewide with one of the two cities. Enter the Woonsocket Investment Co., or WIC, named for a small town south of Huron. In an era before the Securities and Exchange Commission or even state “blue sky” laws, WIC was able to sell shares of itself to some 10,000 South Dakotans, about a fifth of the electorate. Although the historical record is sketchy, the company probably sold the shares via direct public offering, not intermediated by an investment bank, a common practice at the time. WIC’s executives initially asked the town of Huron for land grants, hopeful that the local government would realize that WIC stockholders would then have a strong incentive to vote for Huron in the plebiscite. After being rebuffed there, they solicited Pierre, which wisely granted the company a number of city lots. Realizing that the value of those lots would increase if Pierre won, WIC’s thousands of stockholders turned out en masse, clinching the election for the tiny hamlet on the big river in 1889, the year South Dakota officially became a state. The following year, with taxpayer resources already sunk into Pierre, and WIC stockholders still eager to boost the isolated outpost for their own gain, Huron lost the election to be the permanent capital, too. Huronites were enraged by WIC’s actions, but it was all legal. What WIC did, in a sense, was to share the profits created by the selection of a state capital with the broad segment of the population astute enough to buy its shares. The consequences of this episode may seem minor. With fewer than 14,000 people, Pierre remains the second-least-populous state capital in the nation. But there was a more important legacy: South Dakota responded to WIC’s shenanigans by implementing a number of Progressive electoral reforms and became the first state to adopt initiative-and-referendum legislation, which allows citizens to force a vote on specific issues. Today, with independent groups empowered by Citizens United to spend unlimited amounts on unrestricted attack ads and other political speech, the corporate ability to influence voters’ intentions seems ever more powerful. About 122 years after WIC cleverly swayed the South Dakota electorate to its shareholders’ advantage, how will the country respond to similar threats to its democracy? (Robert E. Wright is the Nef Family Chair of Political Economy at Augustana College in South Dakota and the author of numerous books, including, with David Cowen, “Financial Founding Fathers: The Men Who Made America Rich.” The opinions expressed are his own.)
From the moment we are born we develop both our motives and values. Motives are deep-seated non-conscious desires and are the things that we enjoy doing. Values develop through social conditioning – home, school, religion, work, friends etc. Values are what we feel are important; the things we should do. David McClelland’s theory on human motivation states that in normal, healthy human beings there are 3 social motives and values that describe the widest range of behaviors: - affiliation and Achievement is a concern for achieving a standard of excellence that the individual sets for him/herself. Often people with a dominant achievement motive strive for mastery and expertise in their chosen field. Affiliation is concerned with having positive relationships for the sake of the relationship (and not in service of something else). Individuals with a dominant affiliation motive invest in a few, deep relationships and often have strong reactions towards others – they are clear whom they like and dislike. They prefer environments that are convivial and foster friendship. The power motive is a concern to have influence and impact on others. People with a dominant power motive like to have an audience and visibility. They are often good networkers. There is no ‘right’ motive profile that determines success; we are all different. The key to our success lies in understanding what drives our behavior in various situations; this is a combination of our motives and our values (what we believe is important at the time) and the conditions that we find ourselves in. Defining personal success is a journey of self-discovery; you need to figure out what is your true purpose, what you are passionate about, what you enjoy and find ways at work to satisfy that need. You must to listen to your inner voice rather than be influenced by others so that you can lead a fulfilling life and not feel regret when you retire because you did not follow your heart.
A serious infection carried by rodents and transmitted to humans by flea bites - Age, gender, genetics, and lifestyle are not significant factors Plague is the result of infection by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which usually affects rodents but can be transmitted to humans through flea bites. During the Middle Ages, the disease caused pandemics (widespread epidemics), one of the largest of which was the so-called Black Death of the 14th century, which killed over 25 million people in Europe. Today, small outbreaks occur in Asia, Africa, and South America, and there are a few cases each year in the US, but plague is unknown in Europe. There are two main forms of plague: bubonic plague, which affects the lymph nodes, and pneumonic plague, which occurs if the infection spreads to the lungs. The symptoms of both forms develop rapidly and include a high fever and chills. In bubonic plague, painful swellings known as buboes develop in the lymph nodes, usually in the groin and armpits. Pneumonic plague causes a severe cough, shortness of breath, and chest pain. Once the lungs are infected, plague can be transmitted from person to person through airborne droplets from coughs and sneezes. Plague is diagnosed from the symptoms and by a blood test. People given immediate treatment with antibiotics usually make a complete recovery. However, if treatment is delayed, the disease is frequently fatal. From the 2010 revision of the Complete Home Medical Guide © Dorling Kindersley Limited. The subjects, conditions and treatments covered in this encyclopaedia are for information only and may not be covered by your insurance product should you make a claim.
8. Natural History. The animals and plants of Great Britain closely resemble those of the Continent but they are not so numerous in species. For example, our islands possess only half the number of species of mammals found in Germany. To understand this it is necessary to go back in thought to a time when Great Britain formed part of a broad peninsula projecting from the north-west of Europe, and when the North Sea and English Channel were monotonous plains. At that time the climate was warm, and this country was just as rich in plants and animals as the rest of the Continent. Gradually the climate became arctic in severity, and the whole of the north-west of Europe became like Greenland, covered with snowfields and glaciers. All forms of life were forced to seek a haven in the more genial south. During this period the peninsula became partially submerged in the sea and consequently many of those plants and animals which still lingered immediately south of Ireland and England were also driven away. Eventually the climate improved, the snowfields and glaciers retired to the uplands, retaining those forms of life that haunted their fringes. Thus it came about that many types peculiar to our mountain regions found their present home. Meanwhile the animals and plants in the south slowly spread back again over the north-west of Europe and began to find their way across the narrow connection then left between our islands and the Continent. But long before they had all returned so far, even this connection was lost. Since then it has never been restored for any great length of time, and consequently the British Isles have never been completely restocked. It must not be imagined that immigration ceased with these conditions. The winds and birds still bring seeds and drop them here. Some of these seeds find a suitable habitat and become established. But the main factor in the introduction of species is man, who has been constantly bringing in fresh species. To him this country owes the importation of domestic animals and the food plants—wheat, potatoes, etc., and a number of stray plants accidentally introduced with commercial produce from other lands. In Nottinghamshire there are 854 recorded species of wild plants. This is only half the number recorded for the whole of Great Britain. This small proportion is due largely to the inland position of the county and to the absence of uplands. In the adjoining counties there are extensive areas of limestone, the soil of which is peculiarly favourable to the growth of plants. In this county the richest flora, which includes such forms as the columbine, rock rose (Helianthemum), and bladder campion (Silene cucubalus), is found on the Magnesian Limestone, but this occupies only eight per cent. of the county. This area is also the richest in land snails, which of course require calcareous material for their shells. Lime-loving plants, however, are not confined to the outcrop of the limestone, for some lime exists in the Keuper marls and Lias. Hence such plants as wood anemone, giant bell-flower, herb paris (Paris quadrafolia), and autumnal gentian (Gentiana amarella), are widely diffused through the county. Side by side with these occur clay-loving forms like the butterfly orchid (Habenaria chioroleuca), meadow geranium (G. pratense),and primrose. Typical Bunter Country: bracken, gorse and woodland. Birches in Birkland, Sherwood Forest: bracken undergrowth. The outcrop of the Bunter, which is three times as extensive as that of the Magnesian Limestone, is characterised by the poorness of its flora. The soil is so coarse that it does not draw up the water from below, nor does its surface hold much of that which falls upon it. The plants it bears, therefore, are such as prefer a dry and sandy situation, such as gorse, ling, heath, broom and hare’s-foot (Trifolium arvense). Lime-loving plants do not thrive upon it. It is on the Bunter that open commons and wastes, such as Bulwell Forest, occur, and furnish a suitable home for the common lizard, slow-worm, and viper. On it also is Sherwood Forest, with its oaks and birches and monotonous undergrowth of bracken. Formerly the forest was much more extensive than it is now and so was its fauna. Before the Norman invasion it was the common hunting-ground of all. After that it became the favourite preserve of kings and ecclesiastics. In those days the red deer, wolf, and badger were common. Now the forest has become restricted and enclosed. The wolf, wild boar, and wild cat have become extinct. Red deer persist in a domesticated condition only on the great estates. The badger still roams at night. Even now, however, many kinds of birds and insects ‘find a suitable home here. The modern hunter is still rewarded from time to time by finding some obscure insect, spider, or similar creature which has never been recorded before for the county or possibly even for Britain. Another asset to the Natural History of the county is the Trent. Its flood plain provides a home for sand-loving, clay-loving and moisture-loving plants ; whilst its waters are rich in many kinds of snails, bivalves, and fishes. Sturgeon have been caught close to Nottingham. Porpoises and seals are occasional visitors and flounders are common in its tidal reaches. Lampern are still abundant. In the immediate neighbourhood of Nottingham the Nottingham catchfly (Silene nutans) existed until quite recently in great abundance on the Castle walls and rock. The Meadows also were carpeted with crocuses within the recollection of the older inhabitants, but now their place is almost entirely taken by houses and their memory preserved in the names of streets. The draining of marshy land accounts for the scarcity or extinction of the sundew (Drosera), butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris), and buckbean (Menyanthes trifoliata). On the other hand the importation of cereals and linseed from abroad has led to the introduction of other plants, e.g. bur parsley (Caucalis daucoides), and corn speedwell (Veronica Tournefortii), and various clovers and grasses, some of which have become vexatious weeds.
In World History: Societies of the Past eTexts students explore societies of the past and see the influences and impact history has on their lives today. Etexts can be accessed from anywhere, anytime on multiple devices including iPads, Android tablets, and mobile devices. This easy-to-understand and in-depth look at human societies spans human history from the earliest known hunters-gatherers to the beginnings of modern-day societies (1850 CE). A chronological approach explores social, environmental, political, economic, cultural, and technological issues that remain relevant in today’s world. To help your students visualize historical situations and events, eTexts include many beneficial tools such as vibrant illustrations, detailed diagrams, timelines, stories of everyday people, as well as questions, quick facts and summaries. The unit Egypt offers a comprehensive study of the many facets of Egyptian life. From burying a Pharaoh to building the pyramids, students are sure to enjoy learning about the history of a civilization that lasted for almost 3000 years and boasted a population of close to 10 million at its height. World History: Societies of the Past Teacher’s Guide is available here.
In recognition of American Diabetes Month and World Diabetes Day on November 14, Dr. Richard Driscoll and Dr. Alycia Green urge community members to schedule yearly eye exams. Yearly eye exams are particularly important for people with diabetes or that are pre-disposed to diabetes. Approximately 25 million Americans have diabetes, representing 7% of the population, and 6.2 million Americans remain undiagnosed. Read more facts about diabetes and how the optomap® Retinal Exam is an important aid in fighting diabetic retinopathy. Dr. Driscoll’s book An Eye Doctor Answers is now available on Amazon.com - Preventing Nearsightedness in Children - Summer – A Great Time to Reap the Benefits of OrthoKeratology - Dr. Diana’s New Book The Driscoll Theory® is Now Available! - NIH Study Commissioned to Examine Prevention of Nearsightedness with Soft Bifocal Contact Lenses - Surprising Conditions That Eye Doctors Find First
WIAT-II UK for Teachers (WIAT-II UK -T) - Frequently Asked Questions How should I score the WIAT-II-T Reading comprehension subtest when the reverse rule is applied? To score the WIAT-II-T Reading comprehension subtest when the reverse rule has been applied, test administrators are to ensure that they’ve calculated the weighted raw score before the standard score. This will then take into account the item set the child took. The standard score is then calculated for the actual age of the child (so that you are always comparing a child’s performance to their age peers). You should use table B1 to convert the total raw score to a weighted raw score. Then use Appendix C to obtain the standard score (based on the chronological age of the child). As long as you have followed this procedure, your calculation should be correct. For example, if you used the reverse rule on a 12 year old child, you would go back 3 start points to age 9. You would then administer the age 9 items only. You would add the scores of all of the comprehension items within the administered age level (in this case age 9) only. Therefore, on table B1 you would refer to the level administered, not the age of the child. So in the example above, you would look at the age 9 item set as this is the items that the 12 year old child answered after the reversal rule was put in place. If you'd like to ask a question about WIAT-II UK for Teachers, please email email@example.com.
How do you write a paper in dialogue? Here are the main rules for writing dialogue:Each speaker gets a new paragraph. Each paragraph is indented. Punctuation for what’s said goes inside the quotation marks. Long speeches with several paragraphs don’t have end quotations. Use single quotes if the person speaking is quoting someone. How do you write dialogue in an essay MLA? Writing Dialogue Write each person’s spoken words, however brief, as a separate paragraph. Use commas to set off dialogue tags such as “she said” or “he explained.” If one person’s speech goes on for more than one paragraph, use quotation marks to open the dialogue at the beginning of each paragraph. How do you quote dialogue in a story? 4. Quoting a portion of dialogue: If you quote something a character says, use double quotation marks on the outside ends of the quotation to indicate that you are quoting a portion of the text. Use single quotation marks inside the double quotation marks to indicate that someone is speaking. What are the parts of dialogue? Most dialogue sentences are made of two parts: the dialogue, which is the spoken portion of the sentence, and then the dialogue tag, which identifies the speaker. What are the 5 purposes of dialogue? It makes the story advance. A major feature of dialogue is that it moves the story forward in a more straight-forward way than a narrator’s explanation would. It develops the characters. Characters can also evolve through dialogue. It brings dynamics. It provides realism. It defines characters. It provides information. What are the four elements of dialogue? 4 Key Elements to Writing Effective Dialogue1.) Listen to other people speaking. This advice is pretty self-explanatory. 2.) Read the dialogue you write out loud. After you finish writing a scene, read the dialogue out loud to yourself. 3.) When in doubt, write how it sounds. 4.) Play with punctuation. What is good dialogue? Dialogue is a useful tool for developing your characters and moving your plot forward. Dialogue can help you establish the backstory, and it can reveal important plot details that the reader may not know about yet. Dialogue is great for ratcheting up the tension between characters. Dialogue can also establish the mood. How do you create tension in dialogue? Here are 5 ways to add tension to your dialogue:Keep exchanges short and curt. When two characters are in a verbal sparring match, one may have the occasional, long-winded outburst. Use contradiction. Narrate tense actions mid-dialogue. Use interruptions. Make the speaker’s tone tense. What are the 5 elements of writing? CENTRAL IDEA. This element of good writing involves focusing on a clear, manageable idea, argument, or thesis around which to organize your material. ORGANIZATION. SUPPORTING MATERIAL. EXPRESSION, WORD CHOICE, AND POINT OF VIEW. SPELLING, GRAMMAR, AND PUNCTUATION. What are the main components of writing? There are five major components of the writing process:Prewriting.Writing.Revising.Editing.Publishing. What is effective writing skills? Effective Writing is writing which has a logical flow of ideas and is cohesive. This means it holds together well because there are links between sentences and paragraphs. Effective writing can be achieved or improved through the use of a number of devices.
The Exurbs in the United States Eric Charmes, October 2015 In the United States, some researchers use the term exurbs to designate suburban residential areas inserted into a rural environment and thus physically detached from the urban area on which they depend. These areas are of less interest than in France. However, they are not ignored. They have received renewed attention with various publications making the exurbs key territories in keeping the Republicans in power during the 2004 presidential elections. In this context, the Brookings Institution has funded research to quantify the demographic weight of the exurban rings. This work is all the more interesting in that, unlike many other studies conducted in the United States, the basic unit used to categorize urban areas is not the county (whose average population is around 100,000) but the « census tract ", i.e., a unit with a population varying between 1,500 and 8,000 inhabitants, which is a scale close to that of French peri-urban municipalities. The exurban population then amounts to 10% of the population of metropolises with more than 500,000 inhabitants (Berube et alii, 2006). The phenomenon is therefore not negligible, even if it remains lower than in France. The comparison is, however, delicate because the criteria used by the Brookings Institution to define the exurbs are different from those used by INSEE to define the peri-urban character of a commune. First, it is sufficient that 20% of the inhabitants of a sector (census tract) work outside the sector and in a conurbation for this sector to be qualified as exurbs. This threshold is less restrictive than the one used by INSEE, although it applies only to people working in the equivalent of the urban pole and not in the entire urban area (in other words, the exurbs are defined here in a single step, i.e., without iterative extension of urban areas). Moreover, Brookings Institution researchers have applied minimum density criteria to define « exurban » (as indeed would be desirable for INSEE to do). Above all, unlike France, these exurbs constitute much larger urbanization nuclei than the units of the order of a thousand inhabitants formed by the French peri-urban communes. And, except in special cases, these nuclei are generally destined to expand and not to remain villages. In other words, unlike their French counterparts (see Des villes qui s’étalent en s’émiettant), many American exurbs are destined to join the suburbs and feed the sprawl. BERUBE Alan, Audrey SINGER, Jill H. WILSON et William H. FREY, 2006, Finding Exurbia : America’s Fast-Growing Communities at the Metropolitan Fringe, Living Cities Census Series, octobre, The Brookings Institution.
Wilkes, John (1750-1810) Ornithology Category In the era of Enlightenment, books of knowledge, such as “Encyclopaedia Londinensis”, took on a new importance in the scope of book publishing. The “Encyclopaedia Londinensis” was compiled by John Wilkes, a printer, bookseller and stationer, and edited by John Jones in the early 19th century. This detailed, informative work reflects his experience as a newspaper proprietor and co-head of the British Directory Office. This was an ambitious and all encompassing work that detailed the studies of the arts and sciences, and included many components such as geography, botany, natural history, architecture, maps, and paintings. With its fine botanical illustrations, scientific diagrams, and detailed maps, “Encyclopaedia Londinensis” became an extraordinary work of aesthetics and education. Although Wikes died in 1810, it’s publication continued until 1829. Prints from this publication are becoming quite scarce
Paterson and the Great Falls have inspired writers from Washington Irving to Junot Díaz, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his bestselling novel, The Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Díaz called the Falls, “a natural treasure of alarming power, a place where I have repeatedly sought refuge, inspiration and a sense of myself. Despite the many attempts to shackle, to hem, to pacify, to in wit destroy the falls, they have survived, a reminder of the tenacity of wild spaces but also, in their singularity, a warning that if we do not act this splinter too will vanish and all of us, in our state, in our country–and yes–in our world will be diminished for it.” One of America’s greatest poets, William Carlos Williams, penned the epic poem Paterson. Writing in the journal of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Professor Roberta Smith Favis calls the poem, “an apt epigraph for Oscar Bluemner’s paintings of the textile mills of Paterson.” Professor Favis adds, “Williams, by choosing Paterson as a fitting microcosm in which to set his poetic meditation upon ‘the mind of modern man and the city,’ echoed Bluemner’s realization that this gritty New Jersey town…could stand for the essence of America.” Williams, whose book cover for Paterson includes an Earl Horter sketch of the Great Falls from the collection of the New Jersey State Library, introduces the poem: Paterson has a definite history associated with the beginnings of the United States. It has besides a central feature, the Passaic Falls which as I began to think about it became more and more the lucky burden of what I wanted to say. I began to read all I could about the history of the Falls, the park on the little hill behind it and the early inhabitants. From the beginning I decided there would be four books following the course of the river whose life seemed more and more to resemble my own life as I more and more thought about it: the river above the Falls, the catastrophe of the Falls itself, the river below the Falls and the entrance at the end into the great sea. Williams believed that the poet should capture the power of the local landscape to drive the shape and subject matter of his work. He also believed that American speech should be the root of our poetry and made his mark in poetry by insisting on using language as spoken in the United States. His long poem Paterson is exciting, original, and modern. In one excerpt, Williams writes: Even during the Revolution Hamilton had been impressed by the site of the Great Falls of the Passaic. His fertile imagination envisioned a great manufacturing center, a great federal city, to supply the needs of the country. Here was water-power to turn the mill wheels and the navigable river to carry manufactured goods to the market centers: a national manufactory. Williams greatly influenced beat poet Allen Ginsberg, who grew up in Paterson and frequently returned to the Great Falls. Ginsberg often referred to Paterson in poems and poetry readings throughout the world. John Updike wrote the novel In the Beauty of the Lilies, set largely in Paterson. Drawing inspiration from the Great Falls and the City’s rich industrial history, Updike writes: Since the young Alexander Hamilton had thrilled to the sight of the Falls and saw in this heedless power the center of American industry, the Falls had plunged and thrashed and thrown up mists, and…the Falls remained an essentially wild thing at Paterson’s heart, a distillation of all that is furious and accidental and overwhelming in nature, a gem of pure ruinous uncaring around which the aching generations came and went. Updike chose for the cover of his novel an image of an evocative nineteenth-century painting of the Great Falls. The painting, which is on public display at Lambert Castle in Paterson, captured Updike’s attention when he was doing extensive research for the novel in Paterson. After the tragic events of 9/11, Updike returned to Paterson and completed the novel Terrorist.
Introductory Technical Writing University of Tsukuba In this course students will develop skills for effective academic writing. Topics will include (1) writing in an appropriate academic style, (2) sentence and paragraph structure, (3) making a text ‘flow’ (cohesion), (4) writing definitions, and (5) describing processes. Students will learn how to produce a number of key text types including extended definitions and problem-solution texts. There will be a strong focus on vocabulary development using the Academic Word List. Outside class, each week, students will complete self-study vocabulary, grammar exercises and short writing tasks. Students will receive personalized feedback on assessed writing tasks. For details, see: http://www.corpuslinguist.com/for-students.html Online Course Requirement Site for Inquiry Link to the syllabus provided by the university
Nearly two-thirds of Taiwanese children develop myopia before they finish elementary school, and more than a quarter of them are either overweight or obese, the Health Promotion Administration said, as it recommended more outdoor exercises to help children stay fit and maintain good eyesight. The 2010 national survey on the prevalence of myopia among children found that 4.6 percent of kindergarteners aged four to five were nearsighted (equal to or greater than minus-0.5 diopters), with the prevalance rising to 7.1 percent among those aged five to six. “The figure climbed to 18 percent when the survey respondents only involved first-grade students, and further jumped to 62 percent among sixth-graders,” agency deputy director Kung Hsien-lan (孔憲蘭) said. The agency warned that the earlier the onset of myopia, the more severe it is likely to become later in life. Because a majority of Taiwanese children start to have problems with their vision at a fairly young age, many of them are highly susceptible to developing high-degree myopia (greater than minus-6.00 diopters) at a later age. High-degree myopia can lead to cataracts at a young age, glaucoma, retinal detachment, macular hole, hemorrhage and degeneration or even blindness, the agency said. Another survey on health and nutrition conducted in 2012 found that 28.6 percent of elementary-school students and 27.9 percent of junior-high school students were overweight or obese. Studies on obesity suggest that there is a 50 percent chance of obese children becoming obese adults, and the probability rate is even higher for obese teenagers, who have a two-thirds chance of remaining obese as adults and developing chronic ailments such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, the agency said. Lack of physical activity is related to obesity, as well as nearsightedness, the agency said, citing a previous survey which found that children who participated in few outdoor activities, stayed in front of television and computer screens longer and spent more time in cram schools, were more likely to develop myopia. Parents and schools should make sure that children are getting enough outdoor exercise, it said, adding that the Ministry of Education recently said that every schoolchild should have at least a total 150 minutes of physical education in school.
Peter the Great “HE'S NOT GRRRRRREAT!!!” “Alright Russia, let's mess up all our icons and change our music to opera!” Peter the Great (9 June [O.S. 30 May] 1672 – 8 February [O.S. 28 January] 1725) was czar of Russia from 1682 to 1725, when he died of laughter upon hearing the first ever two cows joke. Peter the Great is best remembered for modernizing and Europeanizing Russia, with the introduction of techno music, beer, clogs, Open BSD and box-shaped automobiles. He had a moustache and was very tall. Peter hated men with beards and women who didn't shave in the Western fashion. People who dared to displease him were stuffed inside empty vodka bottles and catapulted out to sea. This was called progress and got Peter invites to expensive boating holidays in the Netherlands and England. Peter the Great was born in Russia, son of Czar Alexis Romanov - aka 'the Beard'. His father had fallen for the muscular charms of Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina as she was pulling a tractor with her teeth. Alexis married her and their son Peter born soon after. He took after his mother rather than his small father. Peter wasn't the heir, he had two elder brothers Feodor and Ivan in front of him. Feodor was weak in the bladder and preferred to stay seated whilst Ivan was suspect in the head. The young Peter preferred playing outdoors with his companions. Even then he was known for cruelty, making people who displeased him dance as burning hot coals were thrown at their feet. In 1676 Peter's father died and Feodor became Czar. If Feodor had been immobile as an heir apparent, he became positively catatonic for the next six years as Czar. His courtiers only noticed he had died when Feodor began to smell very bad. On his Feodor's death, Peter's mother Natalya and her family tried to have Ivan barred for being a danger to everyone and himself. Though Peter was only 10, he was already taller than anyone else East of the Vistula. But Ivan's sister Sophie engineered a rebellion of the Strepsils, the Czar's own Optiate Guard. Peter saw two of his uncles Pokemon and Sonikovsky hacked to bits and the body parts turned into playing cards. Peter remained Czar but now shared his authority with Ivan V 'Wobbily' Knees and Sophie. She really ruled Russia, sitting on a small stool behind the throne and working her brothers like full scale glove puppets. Peter had retained his interest in all things new but was constrained by his sister and mother to stay in Russia. Worse was to follow, Peter was obliged to marry Eudoxia Lopukhina, a Russian princess. Peter loathed the union down to his loins but dutifully fathered an heir who was named Alexis. The next day Peter walked out and announced he was going on an extended drinking tour of Europe. Only his boozing cronies would go with him, no wives allowed. The Russians made for the Netherlands where Peter's passion for all things naval extended also to riotous drinking parties and mad dash races around the canals in souped up barges. Then when the Dutch government presented Peter with a bill for damages, he and his friends absconded to London. Once again, under the guise of learning 'the ropes' about ship building, Peter was drinking all the taverns of Deptford and Greenwich dry. Since Peter was now the size of a barn door, few people wanted to chuck the Russian on the street. It was also in London that Peter was introduced to the wheelbarrow. Peter was so impressed with this technology, he organised wheelbarrow races between the Russians and the English, losers ending up being tipped into the River Thames. In the end King William III gave Peter some money to go and had his passport stamped 'Indefinitely Barred'. Since Peter couldn't read English, he thought it was a compliment. Criss-crossing Germany and breaking up places that refused to serve him vodka, Peter's foreign trip was curtailed when he received news his brother Ivan had died. Since Peter's muscular mother had also died a little earlier, this meant Princess Sophie was now scheming to return to power again, perhaps via his own son Alexei and his estranged wife Eudoxia. Not so modern after all Peter returned home in a bad mood. Seeing his fellow Russians still wearing clothes that were once fashionable in the Byzantine Empire 300 years earlier, Peter saw that he had a huge task to change things. But first, some good old fashioned Ivan the Terrible style retribution would be a good start. Sophie stayed in her nunnery but Peter took his anger out on Russia's elite protection squad the Strepsils. The lucky ones died in the fire fights, those who were captured were hung, broken on a wheel, impaled and tortured in Red Square for the next month. There was always a good crowd, though the offer of free vodka kept up attendance. Peter also took the opportunity to officially divorce Eudoxia and had her dumped in the same nunnery as Sophie. Peter would home school his own son Alexis. To round off a good year, Peter's brother and co-Czar Ivan was found dead outside an open window in the Kremlin. The coroner said it was 'an Act of God'. Peter was now the One and Only Czar. Now he was ready to take on his greatest internal enemy: The Beardies. The Beard Policy Czar Peter appears to have had a fear of beards (pognophobia) and those who sported them. He was a 'tache man' by contrast. Moustaches were 'modern' and beards were 'backward'. So in the new Russia Peter introduced to shaving and disposable razors. There was at first a great resistance. Russian men (we don't have information on Russian women in the time period) believed wearing a beard was what made them Christian. Resistance was strong for awhile but a few timely executions reduced opposition to the introduction of shavin foam. An army of Italian barbers were dispatched all over the Russian Empire to demonstrate the new facial fashion. Peter also took lessons but his attempts at beard trimming often left his human guinea pigs without their ears and noses. In fact, some historians have gone so far as to suggest that the beard ban was, in fact, one of the main causes of the Russian Revolution, and that had Czar Nicholas had a longer beard the crowds might have held off their revolution a little. Although beards were not banned in 1917, most middle or lower class Russians agreed that they were uselessly short. The great controversy of the Soviet Union, also known as the great beard union, of course, is that beards became in fact SHORTER and Stalin twisted his bearded policy to an ultra conservative MOUSTACHED policy, which some Russians would argue was worse than the short beards sported by pre-Soviet Russians. Peter the Great began a rapid military expansion of the Russian Empire. Following the bloody annexation of Loompaland, Peter went to war against Sweden but lost at the Battle of Narva. King Charles XII of Sweden beat the Russians and tried to capture Peter the Great. Unable to find him (!), the Swedish army instead invaded Poland to take their frustration out with the slippery slavs there. Left alone, Peter was able to rebuild his army with a lot of inducements (i.e. I'll have you shot if you don't join). The Swedes were meanwhile chasing after the Augustus the Strong, King of the Poles and Elector of Saxony and breeder of at least 300 bastard children. Charles tried to kill them all but then heard Peter was attacking his army. This time it was the Swedes who got a thumping, though Charles escaped. Peter celebrated his great victory with a parade down the partially constructed boulevards of St.Petersburg. He had that city the capital of his Russian Army, Moscow was the symbol of old Russia, land of smelly holy men and credulous peasants. Peter's Russia would be different but then again, just the same. It was all to do with a father-son relationship. Peter had by now remarried, a Russian barmaid with biceps to make Hercules weep. She was called Catherine. Peter's official heir was his only son Alexis but the boy was definitely not into Peter's ways. Whereas the Czar still liked to get roaring drunk with his cronies and indulge in murderous horseplay, Alexis preferred to stay in his room and weave a rope to escape Russia. He got away whilst his father was asleep amongst the ashes of a large pit where he had devoured an entire boar. Alexis made it to the West but he had no money and neither the Prussians or Austrians were keen to rile up Peter. So Alexis was dragged back to Russia. Peter gave his son an interview, a party and attempt to join in the drinking games but Alexis wasn't interested. So Peter had his son taken away and helped beat him to death. Like Ivan the Terrible, Peter had murdered his own son. No matter, Peter said he would choose his own successor to carry on the business. Peter eventually commissioned the building of the world's first ever two cows joke. The joke took sixteen months to build and claimed the lives of 150 laborers. It was delivered to Peter on January 25, 1725. It went as follows: \|“\|\|You have two cows. Peter the Great decides to milk them. Now your cows are dead, your country is ruined and your wife has left you.\|\|”\| Peter immediately fell over in hysterics and never recovered. After sixty three hours of laughing, doctors applied leaches to try to suck the bad sense of humors out of Peter. The effort most likely contributed to his death a day later. Peter the Great was buried in a grave overlooking the largest cattle farm in Russia. His memorial was destroyed by the Nazis during the first Battle of Leningrad. - His fave song was : I'm on a Boat (He liked boats) - He was a rave master: he invented russian drinking, which is just like Irish drinking, except you don't laugh at Russians unless you want a rod of uranium shoved down your throat - He liked to cosplay as captain hook - His arch nemesis was Megamind. No, no, I'm not kidding. - He liked to play war: would get his childhood friends together and have them fight each other with real guns and everything. Clearly Russia is not in dire need of a good psychologist. - Peter was God's greatest gift to the world. The proof is that his son wasn't. To picture his son, Emperor Party Pooperus Wet Blanketus The Mistake, imagine that one kid in the back of every class who is whiter than the super vegetarian paper he eats for breakfast, wears eyeliner, weighs 90 pounds, and finds another reason why life sucks every 5 minutes. Yeah, clearly God used all of his awesome on Peter and The Yes Dance.
British Columbia is considering its next steps to fight climate change, and increasing the carbon tax is one of the options on the table. B.C.’s carbon pollution is on the rise. To get back on track to reducing carbon pollution, the government will need to consider new tools (like clean vehicle standards), and strengthen existing tools (like the carbon tax) to drive down its emissions. But before sounding the alarm, it’s worth looking at what stronger climate action would mean for B.C. households — because new research finds climate leadership is better for the bottom line than you might think. Even though the price of energy is expected to go up, the amount British Columbians are spending on energy is expected to fall if the province adopts stronger climate policies. New economic modelling by Navius Research finds that by 2030, households across B.C. could save roughly a thousand dollars a year compared to what they spend today on natural gas, electricity, gasoline and diesel fuel. It’s counterintuitive, but here’s where the savings come from: with stronger climate policies, our homes and vehicles will use less energy. As British Columbians replace old furnaces and cars and trucks, a mix of policies and incentives will ensure they will have cleaner and more affordable options to choose from. Thanks to these more efficient products, within 15 years the average household in the Peace River region stands to save up to $1,200 a year, while a typical Vancouver household would save roughly $900 a year. Households across B.C. could save roughly a thousand dollars a year compared to what they spend today on natural gas, electricity, gasoline and diesel fuel. The graphics accompanying this break down how much two average households could save by 2030. Whereas today most British Columbians burn natural gas to heat their homes, 15 years from now many of those furnaces will be replaced by high-efficiency heat pumps — electric units that transfer heat from outside your home to warm the air indoors, and work even when it’s much cooler outside. New cars and trucks will be more efficient and there will be more fuel choices — electricity, biofuels and gasoline will compete for your dollar when you need to fill your tank (or charge your batteries). These changes are already happening today. Thanks to fuel-efficiency requirements and innovative engineering, a new pickup truck can be as much $525 dollars per year cheaper to run than a 2000 model, and driving it produces less carbon pollution. Stronger policies and innovation will continue to drive down pollution and save you money. These are just a few examples of how our energy use in 2030 could be different from today — everyone’s lifestyle and homes are different, and the opportunities to save will be just as diverse. And of course, the benefits of climate action go beyond the garage. The latest report from Clean Energy Canada, A Clean Economy and Jobs Plan for British Columbia, finds British Columbians will have 270,000 more job prospects in 2025 than today, and easily triple that by 2050, as the province and the rest of the world cut carbon pollution. B.C.’s economy as a whole is expected to continue growing at a pace of about two per cent a year — the same as it would without climate action — adding a healthy $46 billion over the next 10 years, and nearly doubling by 2050. British Columbia has proven it’s possible to reduce carbon pollution while growing its economy, and we have learned to use the power of the market to drive innovation in generating cleaner electricity and making our homes and vehicles more efficient. It’s time to ensure British Columbians across the province reap the benefits of climate leadership. And that means we need the next set of policies and programs that will make it easy and affordable to power our lives with clean, efficient energy. Originally published in the Vancouver Sun, November 23, 2015.
Use of Transmission Lines for Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy Theory and Application of Transmission Line Models to High Surface Area Electrodes Purpose of This Note This application note discusses theory and practice of transmission lines. It outlines the necessity of transmission lines for modeling porous electrodes in Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and describes different kinds of models. Several practical examples of different electrochemical energy storage and generation devices give suggestions how to evaluate such EIS spectra with Gamry’s Echem Analyst. The classical electrochemical interface can be described by a planar electron conducting electrode and an ion conducting electrolyte. Electrochemical reactions occur on the surface of the electrode. The electrochemical behavior of this interface can be described by different models. One of the simplest and most common models is the Randles model shown in Figure 1. The “equivalent series resistance” (ESR) represents the sum of resistances from the electrode, electrolyte, and electrical contacts. It is in series to a parallel connection of charge transfer resistance Rct and double layer capacitance Cdl. Rct represents all Faradaic reactions that occur on the electrode’s surface. These reactions can be reversible and irreversible. In contrast, Cdl describes non Faradaic charge storage mechanisms. It is often replaced by a “constant phase element” for non-ideal assumptions. This model is good for approximations and for describing electrochemical interfaces of planar electrodes. But it describes poorly the effect of porous electrodes that are used in most electrochemical cells. To increase performance, energy storage and generation devices such as electrochemical capacitors (ECs), fuel cells, or dye sensitized solar cells (DSCs) use highly porous electrodes. These electrodes exhibit a very high surface area compared to volume or weight. For example, ECs can have specific electrode surfaces area of 1000 m2/g and more. Electrodes that are using highly porous materials can be differentiated into two parts – the base electrode and the porous electrode. The base electrode is generally an insulated and inactive metal foil where the active material is fixed on. Figure 2 shows a schematic setup. Compared to planar electrodes (see Figure 1), where reactions occur directly on the surface of the electrode. In contrast, the reaction velocity within the pore of porous electrodes is limited. The access to the active interface for ions is hindered due to the small inner volume of the pores. Hence the rate of electrochemical reactions exceeded the diffusion rate of the ion in the pore. This step becomes the dominating step. Due to these restrictions on the electrochemical reactivity, the porous electrode has to be divided into three regions. These interfaces are marked “A”, “B”, and “Active Interface” (see Figure 2). Region “A” represents the interface between the outer surface of the porous electrode and the electrolyte. Region “B” describes interactions between electrolyte and base electrode. The most reactive parts itself is within the pore. This region is called “Active Interface”. It describes the interactions between active material of the porous electrode and electrolyte. EIS is the most commonly used technique to investigate these interfaces. It allows studying reaction mechanisms of electrochemical systems in a generally non destructive way and on different time scales within the same experiment. For better understanding, different fit models can be used to estimate electrode and electrolyte parameters. In the following sections, different models will be introduced and explained by means of measurements on real cells. To follow the content of this application note, basic knowledge of EIS and modeling equivalent circuits is assumed. The stepwise flux of ions within a pore can be described by using the generally accepted vernacular of Transmission Line. Figure 3 shows a model in its generic form. The model consists of several parallel and serially connected elements. It is used to describe the different regions shown in Figure 2. L is the length of the transmission line or the depth of the pore. The two interfaces “A” and “B” are represented by impedances ZA(x = 0) on the outer surface of the pore and ZB(x = L) on the base electrode at the end of the pore. Along the pore, the transmission line is represented by repeating impedance elements. χ1 is the impedance of the electrolyte within the pore. Note that this impedance is different to the bulk electrolyte resistance that is represented as part of the ESR. χ2 is the impedance of the porous electrode’s solid phase. Both parameters describe the ohmic drop between 0<x<L. ζ describes the impedance at the “Active Interface” region shown in Figure 2. Juan Bisquert calculated the impedance, Z, for a general transmission line model according to Equation 1. This equation is the basis for modeling transmission lines for EIS spectra. For his calculations he assumed that χ1, χ2, and ζ are independent on their position (0<x<L) within the pore. Hence they can be treated as homogeneously distributed. In practice, knowing the pore depth, L, allows one to determine important parameters such as the conductivity and diffusion coefficients from the impedance fit results. However, this analysis would go beyond the scope of this application note. Please see cited literature for detailed information. Fitting transmission lines in the Echem Analyst Gamry’s Echem Analyst contains several pre-built EIS models including different transmission line models that can be used immediately or tailored to your specific system. In addition, the model editor enables building your own EIS models. A variety of most common elements can be interconnected to describe different electrochemical systems. For more information implementing and modifying circuit models, see Gamry’s Application Note: For adjusting and calculating model parameters, the Echem Analyst offers two different algorithms. A Simplex algorithm and a Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm calculate the impedance to find adequate fit parameters. The Simplex method also has an Auto Fit function that doesn't place as much emphasis on correct initial guesses as to the values of your elements. The Levenberg-Marquardt method can be faster but requires much better initial guesses on the element values. The next sections describe all pre-built transmission line models in the Echem Analyst. The “Unified” model can be used for testing different boundary conditions and limitations regarding the electrode. Limiting cases of transmission lines can be easily achieved by adjusting appropriate elements to be zero or very large. The transmission line model “Unified” is shown in Figure 4. Not shown is a resistor in series to the model that represents the ESR. This model uses only the Simplex algorithm as it would be computationally and algebraically prohibitive to calculate using the Levenberg-Marquadt algorithm. In total, eleven parameters can be modified and calculated. Compared to the generic form of Figure 3, single and repeating impedances are replaced by specific elements: Note that lowercase letters are used for repeating elements and capital letters for single elements. Resistors will be represented with an R (or r) and constant phase elements will use the letter Q (or q). ZB and ζ are both represented as parallel combination of resistor and constant phase element. The resistor describes charge transfer reactions at the interface. The constant phase element summarizes all polarization effects. In an ideal case, it can be treated as capacitor. However, a constant phase element also addresses non ideal capacitances resulting from inhomogeneities of porous electrodes. All other components in the “Unified” model – ZA, χ1, and χ2 – are represented by simple resistors. “Bisquert Open” and “Bisquert Short” Figure 5 shows two transmission line models which describe limiting cases of the general transmission line model. Both were originally developed by Bisquert to describe diffusion and recombination processes. Model (a) is called “Bisquert Open” (BTO) and (b) is called “Bisquert Short” (BTS). In the Analyst, an additional resistor is in series to the model. It represents the ESR and is not shown in Figure 5. The boundary conditions for both models are: In both models it is assumed that the conductivity of one resistive trail is much larger than the other one. Hence the impedance of the electrode’s solid phase χ2 can be set to zero. Only the electrolyte resistance, rm, within the pore is considered. Similar to the “Unified” model, impedance ζ of the active interface is a parallel circuit of resistor and constant phase element. These elements represent the Faradaic and non-Faradaic impedances, respectively. Impedance ZA is set to infinite (open circuited). This means in practice that electrochemical reactions do not occur on the surface of the porous electrode. Only reactions within the pore are going to be considered. ZA can be completely neglected at the fitting process. The difference in both models is impedance ZB. At the “Bisquert Open” model, ZB is also set to infinite. The system is defined by “reflecting boundary conditions”. This means that the base electrode is completely insulating and no reactions (Faradaic or non-Faradaic) occur on its surface. Note: “Reflecting boundary condition” does not mean capacitive behavior. While capacitors exhibit infinite impedance only at frequencies near zero, ZB is infinite for all frequencies In contrast, ZB is zero for the “Bisquert Short” model. This system is defined by “absorbing boundary conditions”. Hence the substrate’s surface is not entirely insulated and also interacts with the electrolyte. This would short-circuit the porous film. Bisquert calculated for both models the total impedance. The results are shown in Equation 2 and 3. Electrochemical systems can be very different. Electrochemical capacitors base on highly reversible non-Faradaic charge separation mechanisms while DSSCs are based on reversible redox reactions. In addition, if limitations of electrochemical systems are exceeded, underlying electrochemical mechanisms can change drastically. Non-reversible Faradaic reactions can occur which can lead to severe damages of the cell. The next sections apply the prior discussed about transmission lines on practical examples. High power electrochemical capacitors are developed for a number of applications. These include uninterruptible power supplies, lasers, and power electronics for electric and hybrid vehicles among others. They provide a very high capacitance in a relatively small volume and weight. Figure 6 shows the Bode diagram of a potentiostatic EIS test on a 5 F electric double layer capacitor (EDLC) from Nesscap. A DC voltage of 0 V with an AC voltage of 1 mVrms was applied to the capacitor. The frequency range varied from 100 kHz to 5 mHz. In addition, two different fits of models are shown – a R\|\|CPE model (red curve) and a modified “Bisquert Open” model (green curve). An additional inductance (L1) was added to both models and is in series to the ESR. A detailed setup is shown in Figure 7. Model (a) is an extended version of a Randles model shown in Figure 1. The double layer capacitance is replaced by a constant phase element Qp to simulate non ideal electrode behaviors. Model (b) is a modified “Bisquert Open” model. The very simple R\|\|CPE model (red curve) shows poor agreement with the EIS spectrum of Figure 6, especially at frequencies above 1 Hz. In this region the transition from resistive to capacitive behavior occurs. The phase angle changes from nearly 0˚ to 90˚. At very high frequencies, inductance is the dominating part showing a positive phase angle. In contrast, the modified “Bisquert Open” model (green curve) overlays nearly perfectly with the capacitor’s spectrum in all frequency regions. It models very well the incremental decrease of the impedance and increase of the phase angle at frequencies above 1 Hz. Table 1 lists fit parameters for the modified “Bisquert Open” model. The pore depth L and resistance rk are locked. Both columns are highlighted in gray. As no Faradaic reactions are expected on the active interface of the EDLC, rk was set to a very high value. For adequate results, the value of L should be decided prior to the fitting and locked to a particular value. For this application note L is assumed to be dimensionless to keep the discussion straightforward. Note that Ym and the dimensionless exponent α describe the constant phase element. Ym has the unit S•sα (siemens times second to the power of α). For α = 1, Ym has the unit Farad (F) and represents an ideal capacitor. In contrast, if α= 0, Ym is the reciprocal of a resistor with the unit S = Ω-1. Dye-sensitized solar cells Dye-sensitized solar cells are another application where transmission line models are regularly employed. DSSCs are solar cells that utilize organic or organometallic dye molecules. They are adsorbed on mesoporous TiO2 to absorb light efficiently. Excited electrons are then extracted out through the TiO2. Figure 8 shows an impedance spectrum of a DSSC using porous TiO2 and a liquid electrolyte. It was recorded in potentiostatic EIS mode with zero DC voltage and an AC voltage of 10 mVrms, over the frequency range of 10 kHz to 70 mHz. The Nyquist plot shows at higher frequencies a characteristic linear shape in the Nyquist diagram with a slope of about 1. This region – up to about 10 Hz – represents the transmission line. At lower frequencies the curve has the shape of a half circle representing Faradaic reactions on the electrodes surface. The spectrum was modeled using a “Bisquert Open” model with an ESR in series. It fits nearly perfectly over the entire frequency range. The fit results are summarized in Table 2. The pore depth L was again locked. Note that in contrast to EDLCs (see prior section), resistance rk is now much smaller due to Faradaic reactions occurring on the active material. The constant phase element (Ym, α) which represents the capacitance of the system is much smaller compared to the EDLC. In certain types of DSSCs, organic hole conductors are used instead of a liquid electrolyte. Region “B”, the interface between ionic conductor and base electrode, is no more completely insulating and reactions can occur. Fabregat Santiago et al. developed a model to fit this type of DSSCs. The basic model is shown in Figure 9. The “Unified” model enables the possibility to adjust appropriate parameters and to model different cell conditions. Single parameters can be individually adapted. In this particular case, the impedance on the outer surface of the electrode’s pore is open. This can be simulated with a very high value for RA. The impedance of the conducting electrode material is neglected and can be set to zero (r2 = 0). Computational simulations of Nyquist plots for this type of DSSCs are shown in Figure 10. It shows different spectra for increasing reaction resistances RB on the base electrode/electrolyte interface. The spectra of this specific case looks similar to the Nyquist plot in Figure 8. With increasing reaction resistance RB the width of the half circle is increasing. However, the underlying reaction mechanism is different as the base electrode is not completely insulating (“reflecting boundary conditions”). Electrochemical reactions (Faradaic and non Faradaic) can occur on the base electrode. Table 3 lists up all parameters that were used to generate the spectra of Figure 10. RA, RB, r2, and the pore depth L were locked during fitting and are highlighted in gray. Porous electrodes are regularly utilized for applications where high surface areas are beneficial. Impedance spectroscopy on porous materials regularly results in data that can not be modeled with standard circuit components. Hence transmission lines are required due to the distributed nature of the interfacial impedance throughout the pore. Theories of different models that are used in literature and included in Gamry’s Echem Analyst are discussed. By means of examples on different energy storage and generation devices, utilization of the Echem Analyst and evaluation of transmission lines are shown. We gratefully acknowledge the data and very useful comments from Prof. Juan Bisquert and Dr. Francisco Fabregat Santiago in the process of writing this paper. Bisquert, J., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2, pp. 4185-4192, 2000. Bisquert, J., J. Phys. Chem. B, 106, pp. 325-333, 2002. Wang, Q.; Moser, J.-E.; Grätzel, M., J. Phys. Chem. B, 109, pp. 14945 19453, 2005. Fabregat-Santiago, F.; Bisquert, J.; Garcia-Belmonte, G.; Boschloo, G.; Hagfeldt, A., Sol. Ener. Mat. & Sol. Cells, 87, pp. 117-131, 2005.
A small plane crashes in a remote area, with no hope of rescue for several days. The survivors know basic survival techniques but have only rudimentary first-aid skills. How does the pilot-in-command sort, assess and treat injuries when the first-aid kit just went up in smoke? What kind of leadership qualities will that person need? What ethical dilemmas will the leader likely face during the ordeal? A pilot who crashes in a remote area must be prepared to provide pre-hospital care without support from or contact with a physician. There are many books and training programs about survival after a small-plane crash landing ... how to find water, how to prepare a shelter, build a fire or signal for rescue. But one aspect of survival frequently overlooked is first aid in a remote and hostile environment. This type of first aid involves assessing and treating injuries to you and your passengers -- possibly for an extended period -- while awaiting rescue. While this article alone won't accomplish that goal, it will at least demonstrate the need for training and provide some ideas on how pilots can prepare and equip themselves. Any assessment of injuries must begin with the basics, conveniently known as the ABCs -- for airway, breathing and circulation. Using this "checklist," we assess and fix any immediate, life-threatening injury. Examples can include a closed or compromised airway, ensuring the victim is breathing and has a heartbeat, and is not hemorrhaging. Once the three items on this checklist are complete, we move on to a more thorough assessment of the victim's injuries. Paramount in this process is being mindful of the potential for spinal injury: Keep the victim as motionless as possible throughout the examination until you are certain no spinal-cord injury exists. Try to keep the victim's head aligned with the midline of his or her body at all times. Start at the top of the victim's head and work your way down, using both hands, looking at and feeling the body. One of the things you're doing here is looking for blood. Carefully move the flat of your hand under the neck, back, buttocks and legs, frequently checking your hand for blood. Keep in mind the old truism from emergency rooms that the worst injury will be in an area of the body least exposed. Move all the way to the victim's toes. If your examination finds blood at any point, stop and expose the skin whenever possible, preferably by removing clothes, not cutting them. If you must cut the clothing, tape them back together after the exam to retain warmth. (You do have a roll of duct tape in your airplane's equipment, right?) Generally, I recommend leaving footwear on the feet; once removed, they will be difficult to replace due to swelling. Also, if there is a fracture, the shoe or boot will serve as a splint. This part of the assessment is not "stop and fix"; if you discover a fracture or laceration but it's not hemorrhaging, don't stop. Continue with the exam until you have inspected the entire body -- there may be something critical just beyond the next joint. Now that the top-to-bottom examination is complete, it's a good time to try to get some medical history: Does the victim need any personal medications for conditions like diabetes, angina or seizures? Were the medications aboard the plane and can they be retrieved? It might be a good idea to learn about any such conditions among your passengers before taking them on a cross-country flight. Triage And Treatment You have three passengers. You managed to get everyone to safety, despite a severe gash on your upper leg that is bleeding heavily. Your co-pilot is unconscious and bleeding from a scalp wound. An elderly passenger is gasping for breath and rubbing his left arm. His wife is sitting on the ground, clutching her elbow and screaming, "I'm hurt, I'm hurt!" Whom do you treat first? Triage, a French word that means "screening," has become associated with the sorting and allocating of medical care in the field, based on need and the available resources. In this case, a primary resource is the caregiver's knowledge and ability to treat others. There are several types of sorting categories, depending on the medical facility or group performing triage. For our purposes, however, there are only three: immediate (for the life-threatening injuries); later (for broken bones and lacerations); and last (for everyone else). Remember: You cannot treat and take care of your passengers if you are suffering from life-threatening injuries yourself. So ... who gets treated first? That's right: You do. Then, you attend to the head injury, the possible heart attack and, last, the hysterical woman with a possible dislocated elbow. One tool we can use to help decide who needs what and when is taking the victim's vital signs. These include the rate and quality of the heartbeat and respirations, the temperature and color of the skin, and the relative size of the eyes' pupils. Together, these vital signs can be thought of as the body's "engine instruments" and should be used to help us decide if the victim is going into shock, or if the airway or lungs have been compromised. But the most important "instrument" of all is the level of consciousness, or LOC. The LOC can be evaluated by determining if the person is alert and oriented to time and place, only responds to voice, only responds to pain, or does not respond at all. Another technique worth mentioning is "clearing" the spine. In urban first aid, we expect an ambulance to arrive within 10 to 20 minutes, and we're taught to keep the victim's head and neck immobilized and wait for the paramedics. In wilderness first aid, it may be days before rescue and you won't want to completely immobilize someone if they don't need it. So, you'll need to conduct a more formal spinal assessment, one based on evaluating neurological function, which will tell you if a victim's spinal cord has been injured. The examination used to "clear" the spine asks questions such as: Was the injury severe? Is the victim sober? Is the victim distracted from your questions and probing by pain or emotional distress? Is there pain, tingling or numbness in the extremities? Is there pain or tenderness when you touch along the spine? Can the victim move his/her head without pain? If they pass this exam, they can get up and move around as well as they can tolerate. If not, keep them immobilized. What constitutes an in-flight medical emergency, and what can you do to help while maintaining control of the aircraft? The answers depend on what's going on with the patient, but any situation becomes an emergency when the person becomes confused, lethargic or unconscious. Other signs of a medical emergency can include sudden and severe pain, shortness of breath, sudden weakness, difficulty in speech or a seizure. The first thing to do should be obvious: Fly the airplane! Next, ensure the distressed passenger can't interfere with the controls. Engage the autopilot and move the passenger seat back; if necessary, manipulate the seat adjustment lever, pitch the airplane up and let gravity do the work. If the passenger is unconscious, lower the seat back no more than 45 degrees while ensuring the head is supported and there is an adequate airway. Of course, if there are other passengers who can help, let them help stabilize the patient while you concentrate on flying the airplane. If there are no other passengers aboard who can help, do not try performing CPR, even with the autopilot engaged -- you'll be wasting precious time. Instead, concentrate on declaring an emergency and making sure ATC knows you'll need an ambulance on landing. If you beat the ambulance to the airport, don't wait for it before starting CPR. Once on the ground, pull off the runway onto grass or a taxiway, shut down, pull the passenger out of the airplane and onto the ground, assess the ABCs discussed earlier and perform CPR as necessary. Let the ambulance come to you. While waiting on an ambulance and if the airplane is equipped with oxygen and the patient is conscious, administer O2 to the patient until help arrives. Ethical dilemmas in medical care traditionally apply only to health care professionals. However, many of the same issues can arise in the wilderness setting for someone who is called upon to administer first aid without benefit of medical training, advice, guidance or equipment. The combination of limited skills, limited resources and the likelihood of a prolonged delay before rescue brings up several considerations. For example, the decision of what goes into your first-aid kit, how well-trained you are to use it, and how well you can improvise with the resources available determines the limits on treatment you are willing to accept for yourself and your passengers. On the other hand, no matter what first-aid supplies you carry or how well trained you are, limits to available care still exist. So, just as you should do when making decisions when airborne, know your limitations. An untrained person's capabilities and their decision-making abilities will vary widely. The responder must weigh the chance of performing a procedure that may benefit the patient against the possibility of doing further harm. Sometimes, the person feeling responsible for the others may take steps that will place the survivors at further risk. For example, do you abandon your passengers to go in search of food, water or rescuers, or stay, knowing that a potential rescue may be delayed? What if you are the only one with first-aid or survival skills? Of course, there are no easy answers to these questions, only more questions. This article is by no means a complete course in wilderness first aid. For that, you'll need to sign up with a local ski, climbing or hiking club, as one example. Meanwhile, think about what equipment you want to carry and play the "what-if" game on every flight. And while the unthinkable may never happen to you, it's best to ask yourself these kinds of questions in advance and think through the consequences of your actions at least once. Then, if the unthinkable does happen, you will have desensitized yourself to the very real chaos of a life-threatening emergency. And that just might give you an edge on living through this emergency to fly again. Wilderness survival is very much like getting to Carnegie Hall -- it takes practice. More AVweb safety articles are available here. And for monthly articles about safety, including accident reports like this one, subscribe to AVweb's sister publication, Aviation Safety.
Approximately 74 percent of Syrians are Sunni Muslim, with other Muslim groups, including Alawites, Ismailis, and Shia Muslims, making up 13 percent of the population. In the past, estimates put the proportion of Christians at 10 percent, but this figure may now be considerably lower since large numbers of Christians are thought to have fled the country’s civil conflict. Druze account for 3 percent of the population. Religious freedom in Syria has deteriorated sharply since the civil war began. Members of religious minorities are especially at risk in areas controlled by Islamic State (IS), which arrests, tortures, and executes members of religious groups it suspects of opposing its rule. Four hundred years of Ottoman rule in Syria were ended in 1918 when Arab troops, supported by British forces, captured Damascus. A French mandate later governed the country until after World War II. Over the following two decades, military and Baathist factions vied for control. Since the Six Day War with Israel broke out in 1967, sporadic hostilities have continued to break out between the two countries. Syria has been ruled since 1970 by the Alawite governments of President Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez, before him. In 2011, “Arab Spring” protests against the authoritarian Assad regime, and the resulting government crackdown, led to sectarian civil war. Five years of brutal civil conflict have devastated the country. The war has killed an estimated 400,000 people and forced 13 million more to flee their homes. Almost five million of these have sought safety in other countries, particularly in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. Education and healthcare have collapsed, and many areas are gripped by humanitarian crisis. Among the territory seized by IS is the city of Raqqa, which the group claims is the headquarters of its “caliphate”. Arabic, Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian, French, English - Pray for peace in Syria, asking that God will intervene where human efforts are failing. - Pray that He will comfort those who are mourning and provide for those who lack life’s most basic necessities. - Pray also for all those who have had to flee their homes, asking God to protect them. Pray that He will give them hope and that they will one day be able to return home in safety. 19,454,263 (JUL 17)
The reader may be surprised to find the Devil numbered 14. But this is the number that has probably the best argument for being the original. The various orderings of the 15/16th century cards are discussed in some detail by Dummett (1980). Dummett's order Type B, which is followed here, has the best justification based on 15/16th century documents and is most likely the order followed in Ferrara, where we find the earliest mention of Tarot in 1442. In addition to having the best claim on the original numbering of the trumps, this ordering also seems to produce the closest fit to the iconology. We noticed, for example, that a number of the images of Death also showed the Devil, based on Revelations 6:8. The reader will also notice that the themes of the "Triumphs" and the "Dance of Death" will not be considered in this chapter. The imagery associated with the Dance of Death - with each human condition linked to a dancing image of death appears to end with card 13. The tradition of the Dance of Death has no imagery that corresponds to the remaining cards. The imagery associated with Petrarch's "I Trionfi" will reappear in later cards, but the Devil is not described or even mentioned in the poem. The closest thing to an illustration related to the Triumphs is a 1496 woodcut that shows the defeated Cupid tied to a tree, death emerging from a coffin to the left, and a Devil on the right (Panofsky 1939, fig. 39). The early images Figure 1 shows the extant 15/16th century Devil cards. There are only 4 examples because none of the hand-painted decks contain a Devil. This may be simply because every one of the Devil cards has been accidentally lost. But the lack of a hand-painted Devil card may also indicated that the hand-painted decks are commissioned from earlier woodblock printed decks and the Devil was considered to be too dire a symbol and inappropriate for the noble patrons. But that is a matter for another essay. The four surviving woodcuts show the Devil in a variety of different but related images. Three of the cards show the Devil with a trident. Two show bat-like wings. Three depict the devil with eagle talons and two show a second face at the abdomen or genitals. Two of the Devils are covered in hair/fur and three have beards. All have large ears and horns which are either bovine or goat-like. Two of the images show humans being speared or eaten. All of the Devils are depicted as standing. The task before us is to discover all of these details in representations of the Devil in the artistic milieu of Italy where the cards were designed. The Devil in religious art The Devil appears in Christian art from at least the sixth century. Menghi (2002) gives an excellent review of the theology of the Devil from early Christianity and its Pagan roots. But the early examples such as the mosaic at S. Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna ~500 (Link 1995, p 110) and illustrations in a manuscript of 970/80 (Link 1995, p. 86) simply show a dark angel with bird wings and halo (Russell 1984). Early monumental art (12th century) shows the devil with a huge head, flames for hair, and animal paws (Link 1995, pp. 21 and 49) or birds wings (Ibid. pp. 64 and 91). It is not until the latter half of the 12th century that the Devil begins to look familiar. Book illustrations show a hairy beast with curved horns (Voelkle and L'Engle 1998 p. 28, Link 1995 p. 51) but with birds' wings, human feet and a second pair of wings at the buttocks. A painted altarpiece of the 13th century shows the Devil with horns and bovine head but no wings, wearing a skirt, and with animal paws (Link 1995 p. 100). Only in the 14/15th centuries does the familiar symbolism appear. A 1477 engraving (Andre 1996 plate 48) shows the Devil with bat wings and eating a person (Fig. 2). An illuminated initial (Voelkle and L'Engle 1998 p. 262) ~1470 shows the eagle talons and a face at the genitals. An illustration from ~1405/10 (Ibid., p. 266) shows bat wings, curved horns, and the devil is eating people and carrying them on its back. Figure 3 shows an example from an Illustrated Prayerbook of Rouen (~1495). In this case, the devil has a face at the abdomen/genitals, curved horns and large ears. Figure 4, from the Visconti psalter (1402-1425), illustrates the final plague that God brought upon the Egyptians (Exodus 12:21-30). The image of the devil is shown as hairy and bearded, with curved horns, large ears, with eagle talons and bat wings. But at this early point in the 15th century, the Devil still doesn't have the three pointed trident found on the Tarot images (Fig. 1). Once the familiar details of bat wings, eagle talons, etc. appear in the 15th century, they are rapidly adopted. The details appear in illustrated psalters of 1415 and ~1425 (Link 1995 pp. 102 and 142) and a manuscript of 1409 (Link 1995 p. 178). A similar image also appears in the chapel of San Petronio, Bologna in a 1411 image of hell (Welch p. 265). Menghi (2002) provides a sixteenth century exorcism ritual in which an image of the devil painted on paper is burned as an integral part of driving the devil from the possessed person. Surely a strange example of orthodox image magic pointing to a belief in the efficacy of manipulating a physical image. The apocalyptic tradition The imagery of the Devil in the Apocalyptic literature parallels the development of the symbol in other religious art. Revelations describes the Devil as "the beast that comes out of the Abyss..." (11:7) and "The great dragon, the primordial serpent, known as the devil or Satan..." (12:9). The most specific image is given in 13:1/3: "Then I saw a beast emerge from the sea: it had seven heads and ten horns, with a coronet on each ot its ten horns...the beast was like a leopard, with paws like a bear and a mouth like a lion..." The early illustrations of Revelations follow the written descriptions and depict the Devil as a seven-headed dragon. It isn't until the 12th century that we begin to see images of the hairy, bearded Devil with eagle talons (Emmerson and McGinn 1992, fig. 14). Examples continue into the 13th century (Fig 5) but it not until the 14th and 15thcenturies that the details in the Tarot symbol become common. Figure 6 shows Giotto's version of the Devil from a 1306 fresco in the Arena chapel in Padua. Giotto used the curved horns and beard, eagle talons and has the devil eating (and defecating) humans. Notice that the artist has integrated elements from the description in Revelations by showing a serpent behind the Devil's head and two dragons on which the Devil appears to be sitting. Another example can be found in Fra Angelico painting ~1431 (Grubb 1997, p. 112). A number of artists worked on the Baptistery in Florence so we cannot be certain if Giotto is responsible for the mosaic devil in the cupola (Figure 7). However, this image also incorporates the serpent theme from Revelations, showing serpents emerging from the devil's ears. Other examples of the mixed symbolism is found in a 15th century psalter (Grubb 1997, p. 107) where the Devil is shown with serpent-like scaly skin and a psalter of ~1413 (Grubb 1997, p. 119) where the devil is furred but has a scaled abdomen. Figure 8 is taken from an Apocalypse of ~1400 and is an illustration of Revelations chapter 22. The devil in this image has many of the Tarot details including curved horns, beard, hairy body, wings, talons, and face at the abdomen. The number of matching details in these contemporary Apocalyptic images suggests their influence on the Tarot designers. Figure 9 is from a 14th century Bolognese painting of the Last Judgment. The figure shows the devil with curved horns, hairy body and a face at the abdomen. Bat wings and talons can be seen on the devil to the upper right. Once again we find many of the details in the early Tarot card also appearing in the public art of the time. The imagery on the early Tarot cards (Fig. 1) appears to be explained by the religious art available in the early 15th century. The details in the Tarot Devil appear in depictions of hell and especially in illustrations of the Apocalypse. The one exception appears to be the trident that occurs on 3 of the Tarot cards. Link (1995) provides a detailed analysis of the imagery used to represent the Devil between the 6th and the 16th centuries. According to his analysis, the trident derives from the trident of Poseidon, which, in turn, comes from the triple lightning of the Babylonian god Adad (Van Buren 1945). The trident appears in the earliest examples such as a ninth century psalter (Link 1995) but then essentially disappears until the second half of the 14th century. During the intervening period, the devil is shown with a two pronged grapnel (see fig. 4). The earliest example of the trident may be an apocalypse of ~1340 (Grubb 1997, front cover). However, the trident does not become a common feature of the Devil symbol until the 15th century (e.g., Morgan and Morgan 1996, p. 13). So the presence of the trident on the Tarot images certainly marks the Tarot Devil as the late 14th or 15th century. As we found with the symbol of Death, the image of the Devil used on the early Tarot cards is not an ancient image. Early Christian art represented the Devil as an angel and the older apocalyptic tradition shows the Devil as a dragon or serpent. The Devil as a furry beast only appears in the late 12th century. Details such as the bat wings do not appear until the 14th century (Link 1995). Russell (1984) concludes that the Devil became more and more grotesque beginning in the 14th century. So the details on the early Devil cards really argue against theories that assign an earlier date to the origin of the Tarot. In the chapter on Death, we saw several images that combined Death with the Devil and even one that combined Death, Devil and Tower. Russell (1984) points out that the combined imagery of Death and the Devil doesn't begin until the 11th century. In fact, in one 9th century image (Russell 1988, p. 50), it is the Devil rather than Death that is leading off the living person. Figure 10 shows a tapestry ~1373/81 that depicts a devil along with towers falling. So once again we find that the symbols in the Tarot trumps appear in groups, at least within the Apocalyptic tradition, showing an association of Death, Devil and Tower that follows the sequence in the type B decks and documentation from the 15/16th centuries. The 15th century card-player would probably have associated the Devil with the Death symbol as the ultimate fate of the sinner after death. Even though the horns and beard of the Devil are probably derived from the god Pan, the cult of Death in the 15th century would have argued against seeing the Devil as a playful forest spirit. The early Tarot images (fig. 1) don't depict playfulness as the Devil eats bodies and spears them with its trident! Furthermore, the early Tarot images are more bovine than goat-like as one would expect if the viewer was meant to see Pan. The context in which the 15th century card-player would most likely have seen the Devil image would have been in representations of the Apocalyptic Last Judgment. The Franciscan preachers used the approaching end of the world and eternal damnation as a central theme of their homilies (Russell 1984). Therefore, the Devil might have elicited feelings of anxiety and the need for repentance. But to the late medieval mind, the Devil was not just a passive evil that received sinners after death. The Devil was an active force in this world as well. The phenomenon of demonic possession was an accepted concept and learned theologians discussed possession. The Church included instructions on exorcism in the Rituale Romanum, the book of officially approved rituals (Menghi 2002).. One aspect of belief in the Devil's influence relates to the sixth century legend of Theophilus (Russell 1988). Theophilus was a cleric who made a pact with the Devil to obtain ecclesiatical promotion. Though it sounds strange to our ears, it was a wide-spread and common legend that accounts for the almost universal belief in demonic pacts. One aspect of this belief was that worldly success was often suspected as being the product of a pact with the Devil. How else could one explain success in one who was not saintly and achieved success through violent or evil means? Either God is unjust, or the individual had the assistance of demonic forces through a pact. I suspect this is one of the reasons that the nobility never had the Devil card included in their Tarot decks. Its presence might have raised (or confirmed) suspicions about the reasons for their success. Another consequence of the Theophilus legend was the widespread belief that heretics were involved in pacts with the Devil. In an age of faith, the truth of Christianity seemed obvious and indisputable. How else could one explain the errors in a heresy unless the heretic was under the direct influence of the Devil? This belief was reinforced by the experience with the dualist Cathari heresy. The radical dualists saw the Devil as a co-equal force, antithetical to God. Moderate dualism, more characteristic of the Cathari, saw the Devil as an active force conspiring to maintain evil matter and prevent release of the human spirit. Perhaps the nobility prudently excluded the Devil to allay suspicions of heresy? After all, Pope John XXII (1316-1334) had instructed the Inquisition to move aggressively against witches and sorcerers. Finally, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the Devil image would have elicited thoughts of Black Magic. The belief in demonic magic was widespread (Kieckhefer 1989) in Europe. Several manuals for summoning demons have survived (Kiechhefer 1997, Fanger 1998) and the belief in the effectiveness of demonic ritual was essentially universal (Shumaker 1972) and the second half of the 15th century witnessed the atrocity of witch-burning. Russell (1988) provides an insightful analysis of the factors that led up to the belief in witches and demonic magic. First, scholastic theologians had concluded that magic was necessarily demonic. Second, European folk mythology was full of tales of vampires and demons. Third, medieval Catharism and its aftermaths focused attention on the power and influence of the Devil. Finally, a strange perversion of the concept of judicial precedent became established. Confessions of demonic ritual, under threat of torture, were accumulated as evidence for the validity of the phenomenon. So perhaps we should not be surprised to find that the aristocratic patrons omitted the Devil from their hand-painted decks.
Teaching Change: Bioculturally Grounded, Place-based Environmental Education in Hawaiʻi With ongoing climate change, land use change, and changing disturbance regimes that negatively impact Earth’s ecosystems, it is critical that educators convey the importance of safeguarding the natural environment to younger generations to prepare them to face current and future environmental challenges. Teaching Change comprises a collection of innovative programs aimed at strengthening the relationship between youth and nature in Hawaiʻi while also inspiring Hawaii’s youth to become the next generation of natural resource scientists and managers. Teaching Change addresses this mission through immersive, place-based, outdoor Field Courses for local students, and Teacher Training Workshops for local teachers. Understanding Environmental Challenges Although we live in an era that places great emphasis on industrial and technological advances, enlightened stewardship of Earth’s natural resources is an enormous priority if we are to mitigate the environmental challenges affecting our planet. It is, thus, important to teach younger generations to value and safeguard the planet while also inspiring them and teaching them how to become environmental leaders. With this in mind, educators and researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, the USDA Forest Service and the Akaka Foundation for Tropical Forests have created a collection of innovative academic programs called Teaching Change. Led by Drs Creighton M. Litton, Christian P. Giardina and Ming Wei Koh, the program aims to strengthen students’ relationships with nature, broaden their knowledge of environmental issues and create opportunities for students to engage in career-connected learning. Teaching Change was initiated in 2012 with Field Courses based at the Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge and the Puʻuwaʻawaʻa unit of the Hawaii Experimental Tropical Forest. Over the past seven years, Teaching Change has expanded to offer outdoor education opportunities throughout the Island of Hawaiʻi to students and teachers from across the state. Teaching Change offers students the opportunity to participate in day long and overnight Field Courses, as well as Teacher Training Workshops for local middle- and high-school teachers focused on how to develop and implement curricula that emphasizes outdoor, place-based learning. ‘Teaching Change began as an effort to provide outdoor, immersive, place-based educational opportunities on Hawaiian forest ecology and climate change science to local, underrepresented youth from Hawaiʻi Island,’ explains Dr Litton. These outdoor educational activities are designed to inspire a sense of environmental stewardship and broaden students’ knowledge about Hawaiian native forest ecosystems, the threats they face due to climate change and other forms of environmental degradation, and solutions that could help to manage these threats. The programs led by Teaching Change staff seek to inspire at least some of the student participants to pursue careers in natural resource management in Hawaiʻi. This is achieved by introducing students to local careers in conservation and to college education pathways that prepare students for careers in environmental protection, conservation and natural resource management. Immersive Learning Experiences Teaching Change comprises several different Field Course programs, organised events and Teacher Training Workshops – all designed to provide transformative outdoor learning experiences to local youth and educators in Hawaiʻi. Over the past seven years, Teaching Change has offered a variety of opportunities to middle- and high-school students by taking them on Field Courses where they learn about native forest ecosystems and have first-hand experiences with the natural environment on their island home. During these courses, students learn about important STEM topics relating to natural resource management while being informed about career pathways in wildlife biology, conservation, forest ecology, and restoration ecology. The programs offered by Teaching Change emphasize ‘phenology’ – the study of cyclic and seasonal natural phenomena – specifically focusing on climate and endemic forest plants and birds. For instance, overnight Field Courses expose students to the importance of greenhouses where threatened, rare and endangered native plants are propagated for the critical work of confronting habitat degradation through restoration of native biodiversity. ‘Over time, we have built strong relationships with land managers and scientists in places such as Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge and the Puʻuwaʻawaʻa unit of the Hawaiʻi Experimental Tropical Forest, which allow us to take local youth on day and overnight Field Courses to study native forests using observations of phenology as a central organizing and learning mechanism,’ says Dr Litton. Teaching Change Field Courses are intensive and the staff has a strong commitment to creating opportunities for active, place-based learning in premier montane wet and lowland dry native forest environments. The program provides these remarkable overnight learning experiences during 10-12 overnight Field Courses each year that serve ~200 students. ‘Teaching Change began as an effort to provide outdoor, immersive, place-based educational opportunities on Hawaiian forest ecology and climate change science to local, underrepresented youth from Hawaiʻi Island.’ Because of very high demand for Field Courses and to reach a wider audience, Teaching Change began offering Teacher Training Workshops in 2015 that are designed to broaden local teachers’ knowledge of outdoor, place-based education. Participating teachers apply what they learn during these workshops to their classrooms, introduce new learning activities based in natural environments and align activities and curricula with next generation science standards while gaining professional development credits that support their career development. This program greatly expands the impact and reach of Teaching Change in Hawaiʻi schools, creating a ripple effect that reaches dozens of classrooms and hundreds of students every year. The Teacher Training Workshops are offered to 20–30 teachers each year who are recruited from public schools throughout Hawaiʻi with a focus on teachers and schools serving underrepresented and underserved students. During these workshops teachers are trained how to teach core STEM concepts in natural settings in a way that meets next generation science standards. To accomplish this, Teaching Change focuses on teaching diverse concepts including phenology, climate change, invasive species, land-use change, forest ecology, and biocultural resource management. Each Teacher Training Workshop operates over the course of a semester. First, teachers attend a three-day intensive learning session to experience the overnight Field Course that students in the program participate in. They then engage in collaborative learning opportunities focused on next generation science standards and developing new outdoor, place-based and immersive curricula and course content, which they then apply inside and outside of their classrooms. To support teachers in their efforts to create new, placed-based learning, participating educators meet regularly with Teaching Change staff at their schools. Teachers complete the program by meeting again at the end of the semester to share their curriculum experiences with other participating peers. ‘Local teachers, based on the lessons learned in these workshops, create outdoor curricula that make sense for their students and their place,’ Dr Litton adds. ‘The results have been truly impressive in terms of the curricula developed and implemented for local youth state-wide, and we never cease to be amazed with what these teachers develop and put into place for their students based on our workshops.’ Since it was first established in 2012, Teaching Change has offered overnight, science-based Field Courses to over 1,100 middle- and high-school students in Hawaiʻi, day long Field Courses to over 450 elementary school students, and led four Teacher Training Workshops that have been attended by 75 teachers from schools across Hawaiʻi. To evaluate the program’s outcomes and accomplishments, the program leaders ask participants to complete surveys before and after they attend courses, workshops or events. The feedback collected from these surveys has helped the researchers to identify the strengths and weaknesses of Teaching Change’s programs. In the future, Drs Litton, Giardina and Koh also plan to track the academic and professional development of students who have taken part in Teaching Change programs to, for instance, explore how many students the program has inspired to enter into educational pathways and careers in environmental protection, conservation or natural resource management. ‘The building of teams has been one of the most important achievements, as it has allowed Teaching Change to flourish since its inception in 2012,’ adds Dr Litton. ‘This includes the team of current principal investigators, the team of staff from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry and the Akaka Foundation for Tropical Forests, and the various land management agencies that we partner with who provide access to their sites, as well as the teams of teachers that organically become a support network during and after the Teacher Training Workshops.’ A further accomplishment of the program has been the recruitment of experienced teachers who have taken part in Teacher Training Workshops as peer-mentors for participating teachers, educational leaders who the program leaders refer to as Master Eco-Literacy Teachers (METs). Typically, 2–3 METs take part in each Teacher Training Workshop, supporting new teachers by showcasing examples of the curricula they developed in previous years while helping participating teachers design programs that they will apply to their schools and students. These experienced METs are an invaluable source of knowledge, support and inspiration for new teacher participants. Inspiring Future Generations As Earth continues to face daunting environmental challenges, initiatives such as Teaching Change will become increasingly important as a source of inspiration for the next generation of conservationists and managers. Teaching Change strengthens local students’ appreciation of nature, while also inspiring teachers to introduce more outdoor and nature-based learning activities. In the future, Teaching Change can serve as a model for other institutions and universities seeking to introduce programs aimed at bringing middle- and high-school students outside of the classroom and into natural settings. Such initiatives not only strengthen students’ scientific understanding of climate change and environmental science by learning how to carefully observe the world around them, but also help students gain a deeper appreciation of nature and become inspired to take better care of our planet. Meet the researchers Dr Creighton M. Litton Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Management University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Dr Creighton M. Litton is a Professor of Forest Ecology and Management and the Director of the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. He holds a PhD in Botany from the University of Wyoming, an MS in Forest Resources from North Carolina State University, and a BA in Environmental Studies from Emory and Henry College. He conducted postdoctoral research in ecosystem science at both California State University Fullerton and Oregon State University. Dr Litton teaches undergraduate and graduate coursework and conducts research in ecology, conservation biology, and natural resource management in Hawaiʻi. Dr Christian Paul Giardina Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry Dr Christian Paul Giardina is a research ecologist with the US Forest Service at the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. He holds a PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Denver, an MS in Forest Sciences from Colorado State University, an MA in Social Justice and Ethics Studies from Iliff School of Theology, and a BS in Zoology from Duke University. Over the course of his career, Dr Giardina has led research on climate change and restoration in tropical forests, with ongoing work in Asia, Latin America, Hawaiʻi and the US Affiliated Pacific Islands. Before joining the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, he was a research ecologist at the Northern Research Station in Houghton. Dr Ming Wei Koh Center for Getting Things Started Dr Ming Wei Koh is an ecoliteracy educator. She holds a PhD in Sustainability and Agriculture Education from Prescott College, an MA in Instruction and Curriculum from the University of Detroit Mercy, and a BA in Biology and Music from Berea College. During the time she worked with Teaching Change, Dr Koh was affiliated with Pacific Resources for Education and Learning. She trains teachers in the Pacific region as well as conducting research in geo-literacy and eco-literacy education. Ohara Akaka Foundation for Tropical Forests Rebekah Dickens Ohara is the Director of Programs for the Akaka Foundation for Tropical Forests. She is currently a PhD student in the Forestry and Natural Resources Department at Purdue University. She received her BA in Anthropology in 2009 and MA in Social Science in 2013 from Humboldt State University. She served as a Teacher’s Assistant and Field Guide for Humboldt State University’s Primate Field School at the Organization for Tropical Studies in Costa Rica for two semesters. She relocated to Hawai‘i in 2013 with Teach for America and taught elementary school for two years after receiving her Teaching License from Chaminade University. Blaire J. Langston Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Management University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Blaire J. Langston is the Program Coordinator for the Teaching Change Program. She received her MS in Natural Resources & Environmental Management from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 2018, and an undergraduate degree in Marine Biology at Stockton University, New Jersey. She spent her early professional years working in stormwater management and watershed science for the Musconetcong Watershed Association and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. One of her most memorable experiences in conservation was serving as an AmeriCorps member and traveling to Utah to remove invasive species by chainsaw in the backcountry. USDA-NIFA College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Hawaii P-20: College Access Challenge Grant (CACG) Hawaii P-20: Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Hawaiʻi Community Foundation Steve Kendall, Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge Kainana Francisco, Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry Elliott Parsons, State of Hawaiʻi Division of Forestry & Wildlife Creative Commons Licence (CC BY 4.0) This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. What does this mean? Share: You can copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format Adapt: You can change, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially. Credit: You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. More articles you may like Facilities for recycling metal parts at the locations they are required would be a major milestone in the global struggle towards sustainable industry. Yet for all its advantages, the innovations required to realise such a goal are a daunting prospect. Now, Andrew LaTour and his colleagues at MolyWorks Materials are bringing the idea one step closer to reality, through the development of their ‘Mobile Foundry’. The company’s work could soon provide a new basis for developing a completely closed-loop economy in areas related to metal manufacturing, potentially slashing the industry’s negative environmental impacts. Globally, grassland ecosystems represent a vast, often under-appreciated store of carbon. Sustainable grazing practices offer the potential for maximising the role of these ecosystems as carbon storehouses and biodiversity safeguards. Dr Mark Boyce and his team from the University of Alberta have been investigating how cattle-grazed systems can be adapted to increase carbon storage on the Canadian Prairies. They use the data collected to create protocols for supporting the inclusion of grazing strategies in climate mitigation plans. Professor Leila Farhadi – Remote Sensing & Computer Modelling: Understanding the Dynamic Water Cycle The Earth’s water cycle is an incredibly complex system, and is closely coupled to the planet’s energy and carbon cycles. One of the biggest challenges for hydrologists is to accurately model the components of this system and begin to understand how human-induced changes to the climate and landscape will affect it. Combining computer modelling with observational data, Professor Leila Farhadi and her team at the George Washington University created a novel approach to mapping two critical components of the water cycle: evapotranspiration from the landscape and recharge to aquifers. Their work has implications for predicting and responding to water shortages, towards ensuring global water and food security. If there is one thing to celebrate about this year, it’s the fact that the country has finally started to wake up to the climate emergency. Thanks, among other things, to the thousands of children regularly striking for their right to have a better future than the one we have been building for them, a majority of the UK public, now back a 2030 zero-carbon target.
Azerbaijan preparing atlas of mud volcanoes By Nazrin Gadimova For the first time in history, Azerbaijan is preparing an atlas of mud volcanoes on the planet. This was announced by the Geology Institute Mud Volcanoes Department head Prof. Adil Aliyev. Noting the fact that such atlas has not yet been prepared in the world, he said:"It was previously thought that the world has a 700-800 mud volcanoes but this figure increased to 900- out of which 300 volcanoes are located in Azerbaijan." "During the preparation of the atlas, it became clear that there are more than two thousand mud volcanoes in the world today," he added. "This is the data provided by Azerbaijani scientists which is now part of the world science," Aliyev said. "Formerly there were different accounts on the number of mud volcanoes on the planet. We have conduced research for four years. During this time we have translated about 600 scientific sources from English. Earlier, we thought that 170 volcanoes were located in the southern of the Caspian sea. Then we carried out seismic surveys, satellite imagery, and all these led us to this conclusion that the number if higher than we expected." Aliyev noted that there are 230 submarine mud volcanoes and 10 island volcanoes in the south of the Caspian Sea. To date, 344 mud volcanoes have been found in Azerbaijan, 133 of them are located in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. The scientist believes that today it can be said that the mud volcanoes exist in all continents. "They are found in 42 countries-most of them over the past 10-15 years. At the same time, new mud volcanoes were discovered at the bottom of the Caspian, Black and Mediterranean seas," he said. Aliyev noted that after drawing up a new map of Azerbaijan's mud volcanoes in 2003 with the help of satellite images,several more volcano were discovered. "Previously we had no information about them. Most found volcanoes lye under a layer of silt. Earlier, we did not know so many submarine volcanoes, but now their number has increased significantly," the scientist said. "We can say that the work on the new atlas is almost completed and it will be published in mid-2014 in three languages - Azerbaijani, Russian and English," the head of department concluded. Oil and gas-rich Azerbaijan ranks first in the number of mud volcanoes in the world. Over a thousand mud volcanoes are known to exist in the world, and some 400 are located in the coastal area of Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea. The world's largest mud volcanoes - Boyuk Khanizadagh and Turaghai - are both in Azerbaijan. Boyuk Khanizadagh, the diameter and height of which are 10 kilometers and 700 meters respectively, erupted on October 10, 2001, shooting out flames 300 meters in the air. It was the highest record for flames shot from a mud volcano. Mud volcanoes are a fairly widespread geological phenomenon. The dissemination of mud volcanoes usually indicates the existence of large oil and gas basins, so the large number of mud volcanoes in Azerbaijan reaffirms its richness and attracts the attention of scientists from all over the world. Azerbaijan's rich fields of oil and gas condensate such as Lokbatan, Garadagh, Oil Rocks, and Mishovdag were discovered near mud volcanoes. The lava, mud, and liquid spewed by mud volcanoes are used as raw materials for chemical and construction industries, as well as pharmacology. In order to get a better understanding of the nature of mud volcanoes, ANAS Geology Institute holds joint research projects with the German Geological Sciences and Natural Resources Ministry within the Azerbaijani-German international technical and scientific cooperation.
E. Cobham Brewer 18101897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898. (b. Ludlow, Shropshire, April 21st, 1810; d. Chelsea, December 23rd, 1877). Queen Elizabeth and her Times (1838); England Under the House of Hanover (1848); The Celt, the Roman, and the Saxon (1852); Domestic Manners in England during the Middle Ages (1861); Essays on Archæological Subjects (1861); A History of Caricature and the Grotesque in Literature and Art (1865); Womankind in Western Europe (1869), etc., besides editions of The Canterbury Tales, The Vision of Piers Plowman, etc.
Conditions InDepth: Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH)En Español (Spanish Version) The prostate gland is a walnut-sized organ located at the base of the urinary bladder, directly in front of the lower rectum. It surrounds the urethra, or urinary tube, and is just beneath the skin in front of the anus. The prostate is part of the male reproductive system. Women do not have a prostate gland. The Prostate Gland © 2008 Nucleus Medical Art, Inc. The prostate is one of the few organs that continues to grow throughout life. It is said that if you live long enough, your prostate will grow large enough to bother you. When it does, it will impede the flow of urine. Prostatism and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) are the dominant terms for this nonmalignant enlargement, but they are being replaced by the terms "lower urinary tract symptoms" (LUTS) and "benign prostatic obstruction" (BPO). BPH is one of the most prevalent health problems among aging men, affecting six million men in the United States over the age of 50 and an additional estimated 17 million men world-wide. By the age of 70, ninety percent of men have enlarged prostates, as assessed by autopsy criteria. Growth of prostate tissue is stimulated by dihydrotestosterone, a male hormone. As long as this hormone is present, your prostate will keep enlarging. Eventually it will begin to squeeze your urethra and make it harder to pass urine. To compensate, your bladder muscle gets bigger and stronger, but the prostate will eventually win the battle. When the passing of urine is obstructed, some urine will remain in the bladder. This residual urine may lead to complications. The urine may become infected, and the infection can be very difficult to cure until the bladder can empty completely. This is uncommon and usually occurs in elderly men. Resistant bacteria sometimes develop and may spread to cause serious illness. Urine retention can also back up into the kidneys and lead to chronic kidney disease or even kidney failure, which can be fatal. What are the risk factors for benign prostatic hyperplasia? What are the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia? How is benign prostatic hyperplasia diagnosed? What are the treatments for benign prostatic hyperplasia? Are there screening tests for benign prostatic hyperplasia? How can I reduce my risk of benign prostatic hyperplasia? What questions should I ask my healthcare provider? What is it like to live with benign prostatic hyperplasia? Where can I get more information about benign prostatic hyperplasia? American Urological Association Practice Guidelines Committee. AUA guideline on management of benign prostatic hyperplasia. J Urol. 2003;170:530-547. Burnett AL, Wein AJ. Benign prostatic hyperplasia in primary care: what you need to know. J Urol. 2006;175:S19-24. Dull, P, Reagan RW Jr, Bahnson RR. Managing benign prostatic hyperplasia. Am Fam Physician. 2002;66:87-88. National Kidney Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse website. Available at: http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/ . Last reviewed April 2007 by David Juan, MD Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Copyright © 2011 EBSCO Publishing All rights reserved.
It can be hard to know how to deal with headache caused by tinnitus. Tinnitus is a very common inner ear symptom. It is not a disease in and of itself. It is a symptom of chronic or acute hearing loss. When sound waves from the environment can no longer reach the inner ear, the brain cannot hear them. Sound waves that have lower pitches are heard more easily. Sound waves that have higher pitches are generally harder to hear. When hearing loss occurs, the first sounds that diminish are the higher tones. Since the brain is bother by this audio silence, it manufactures higher pitched noises. People perceive these pitches as a chiming or buzzing sound in ear. Those sounds are known as tinnitus. Hearing a soft buzzing or chiming in the ears is a very common symptom. The sounds themselves do not harm the ears. Trying to plug the ears to muffle the sounds should not be attempted. This will exacerbate the problem. If the noise in your ears causes discomfort in your head, try these techniques. The most common treatment for ringing in the ears is the use of a white noise or snow sound machine. They work by canceling out the ringing tones. If you do not have one of these machines, you can listen to one of several devices that can emit neutral sounds. Radios and televisions tuned to empty channels make neutral sounds. Most box and cage fans do also. You can also drown out the ringing noise with the sound of falling water. Running the shower or bath, running water in a sink or using an indoor water fountain can provide relief. Some folks find relief from the ringing in the ears through meditation or hypnosis.Those activities cause you to enter an altered state of consciousness. When you are less aware of your surroundings, you will be less aware of the ringing and your headache. An additional feature of using hypnosis to relieve the symptoms of tinnitus is that it gives you something to listen to besides the chiming. The sounds from the hypnotist will command your full attention. When you are tuned into it, you will have an easier time tuning out the noises in your ears. Along with being effective treatments for buzzing sounds, these therapies are also good for stress reduction. Tension accompanies almost every headache. Relieving the tension will also help ease the pain. Sleeping, taking in a movie or taking a hot bath can also reduce both tension and discomfort. You can learn effective techniques for how to deal with headache caused by tinnitus. The chiming and buzzing sounds are not dangerous but can be irritating. They can be canceled out with white noise or the sound of falling water. You might be able to forget the pain by practicing hypnosis or meditation. General stress reduction techniques can also ease the discomfort
Coursera announced yesterday that they’ve raised an additional $43M. Part of their focus going forward will be to bring Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) to the developing world. Coursera currently works with 83 universities (including Stanford and Yale) to offer free video lectures to anyone with an Internet connection. However, only 7% of their courses are offered in a non-English language. Because Coursera’s content is based on university lectures, their courses generally have specific start and end dates and include homework, quizzes, and exams. For an additional fee (typically $50), some courses offer a verified certificate of completion (called Signature Track). These certificates are not transferrable for college credit yet, but it’s something that Coursera is working on. I recently heard one of the founders, Daphne Koller, speak at an education conference. She was an inspiring speaker. Some of her key insights were: - About 8% of registered students actually complete the course. About half who sign up never actually start, and others who do are there just to watch the lectures. Completion rates are much higher for students who turn in the first homework assignment or pay for Signature Track. - About 40% of students are from the developing world, where completion rates are also higher. Courses offered in French are increasing popular, largely due to interest from sub-Saharan Africa. Extending their platform to mobile devices will be important to reach students with limited broadband. - The average university has 5-6K courses. Coursera currently has around 400, and they hope that in 5-10 years they will have the curriculum of a medium-sized university. - Some of the challenges have been for professors to adapt their courses for delivery online, and to figure out how to grade assignments at a much bigger scale. Also, social learning takes place mostly outside of their platform. I can imagine a future where university lectures are available from Coursera, and the bricks-and-mortar experience is more focused on group discussions, research, grading, and certification. Even though the MOOC format is not ideal for everyone, it’s certainly a wonderful thing for learners to access free lectures from top universities around the world.
Researchers at Arizona State University have created a novel method for capturing carbon dioxide, temporarily storing it, and easily releasing in a safe environment. The process utilizes disulfide precursors in a process that requires less energy and is much safer allowing the captured carbon to be released in environmentally safe ways. By using disulfide precursors to capture carbon dioxide, thiocarbonates are formed and can later be oxidized to release the carbon dioxide and recover the precursor. - Coal burning power and natural gas plants - Crude Oil Extraction - Urea Production - Plant Growth Benefits and Advantages - Safer – The thiocarbonate is very stable. - More Efficient – The method could reduce energy and cost requirements by more than half. - Portability – The ability to trap the carbon dioxide in the stable thiocarbonate allows for the carbon dioxide to be transported, and released in a desired location. For more information about the inventor(s) and their research, please see Dr. Daniel Buttry's directory webpage
Introduction – Zero Waste Management Waste management is not new and it has been passed through a series of innovations started with open dumping, being the first wave before 3000BC to sixth wave of zero waste systems at present through various initiatives such as behavior change, sustainable consumption, cradle-to-cradle design, 100% recycling/resource recovery. Zero waste systems include a holistic approach of cradle-to-cradle closed-loop design systems, sustainable resource consumption and resource recovery from waste. It took human history over 3 million years to reach 1 billion people in the early 1800s. Now, we gain 1 billion people every 12–14 years and the world’s population grows by more than 200,000 each day. Currently, half the world’s population lives in urban areas and almost all regions of the world will be predominantly urban by the middle of this century. Urbanization is higher in high-consuming counties compared to low-consuming countries. The present consumption-driven society produces an enormous volume of waste every day and it has negative impact to our environment. Continuous depletion of natural finite resources by urban populations is leading the globe to an uncertain future. Therefore, to prevent further depletion of global resources, sustainable consumption and a strategic waste management system would be required. According to the Japanese Ministry of the Environment’s annual report Waste Disposal in Japan, the country was a recycling-oriented society up until the 1950s, with greater percentages of waste being recycled than at present. As the country’s postwar economic boom began, however, factories began discharging large volumes of industrial waste, and urban development sites similarly began producing large amounts of construction debris. Waste volumes in Japan increased approximately fivefold in 20 years, from 8.9 million tons in 1960 to 43.9 million tons in 1980. Since the 1980s, however, fewer local governments have continued the practice of treating waste by burning garbage out in the open. Serious efforts at waste management began in Kamikatsu as well in the 1990s. Kamikatsu, Tokushima Prefecture, was the first municipality in Japan to promulgate a Zero Waste policy. Town residents sort waste into 45 types in 13 categories, and managed to recycle 81% of all their refuse in 2016. Kamikatsu’s Waste Station is a center for interaction across the region. Just four decades ago, this small island nation had become an environmental cautionary tale, some of its cities synonymous with the high health costs of rapid postwar industrialization. Kamikatsu – Lifestyle Shift for Sustainable Living In 1995, Kamikatsu began offering financial assistance to residents for purchasing household raw garbage processors, a pioneering initiative in Japan at the time. Each household could purchase one such unit at a dramatically discounted cost of only ¥10,000. Adoption rates of 97% meant that it was possible to dispose of all of the town’s raw garbage at the very households producing it. Images: Kamikatsu’s waste station manager, Kazuyuki Kiyohara. (ABC News: Yumi Asada) In 2003, the local government in Kamikatsu, Japan decided to require that all residents comply with a new, rigorous recycling program – perhaps the most rigorous in the world. Since then, the town composts, recycles, or reuses 80% of its garbage. It may not technically be 100% zero waste, as the remaining 20% goes into the landfill, but it’s a remarkable achievement for an entire community, in such a short amount of time. The impacts have been positive – cutting costs for the community drastically and it helped to achieve the sustainable living in this region. At first, it was difficult to become accustomed to the new rules. “It can be a pain, and at first we were opposed to the idea, if you get used to it, it becomes normal” says resident, Hatsue Katayama. Vision 2020 – Zero Waste Town The first zero-waste brewery has opened in Kamikatsu, called Rise and Win Brewery. The brewery itself is constructed of reused materials and environmentally friendly finishes. By 2020, Kamikatsu hopes to be 100% zero waste, with no use of landfills, and to forge connections with other like-minded communities in the world, spreading the practice of zero-waste. The categories cover everything from pillows to toothbrushes as the town aims to recycle all its waste, sending nothing to incinerators. The process can be onerous-not only are there dozens of separate categories, but items like plastic bags and bottles must washed and dried to facilitate recycling. The 2,000 people of Kamikatsu have dispensed with public trash bins. They set up a Zero Waste Academy to act as a monitor. The town dump has become a sort of outdoor filing cabinet, embracing 34 categories of trash – from batteries to fluorescent lights to bottle caps. According to Akira Sakano, Deputy Chief Officer at Zero Waste Academy in Kamikatsu, the town has a kuru-kuru shop where residents can bring in used items and take things home for free. There is also a kuru-kuru factory, where local women make bags and clothes out of discarded items. Kamikatsu is already close to achieving its goal, recycling about 80 per cent of the 286 tonne of waste it produced in 2017, far more than the national average of 20 per cent. Every city across the globe should learn from the various eco-friendly initiatives of Kamikatsu, which not only cost-competitive but also teach us how to make our living sustainable without destroying our mother nature.
John Quincy Adams wasn't exactly itching to be president. Along with George Washington, Adams was perhaps the only man elected to the presidency who so thoroughly doubted his worthiness for office, and who so fastidiously avoided the appearance of interest in it. He wrote in 1823 that the presidency "is not in my opinion an office to be either solicited or declined.... The principle of the Constitution in its purity is that the duty shall be assigned to the most able and the most worthy." In his diary, he would repeat the sentiment: "If I am to be a candidate, it must be by the wishes... of others, not by mine." In the next presidential contest, the most controversial in the early republic, the electors did just that. But with "the corrupt bargain" hanging over his administration from his inauguration onward, John Quincy Adams' presidency became the least accomplished thing about him. As president, he dearly desired to put America on the world stage, but his ambitions for a national university, a national observatory, and federal funding for the arts were thwarted by his political enemies. Adams suffered the distinction of being only the second U.S. president to lose re-election. The first was his father. Worse still, his loss to Andrew Jackson amounted to a special kind of insult. Compared to the temperate, reserved, and supremely literate Adams, Jackson was an ambulatory backwoods ditch-fire of illiterate rage. But it would be wrong of us, on Presidents Day, to let the smallness of Adams' White House legacy obscure the largeness of the man. John Quincy Adams was one of the greatest statesman in the republic's history. He served his government with both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. He also had the greatest post-presidency of any chief executive. At the age of 17, Adams was made the United States minister to the Netherlands. He would become the nation's first received minister in Russia's court, serving with distinction until he was recalled to negotiate the Treaty of Ghent, which ended America's second war with Great Britain. Later, as secretary of state, he helped conceive and author the Monroe Doctrine, one of the most durable foreign policy dictums in the nation's history. After his presidency, Adams returned to elected office in the House. He abhorred Jackson's cruel expulsion of Native Americans, and worked for their welfare from the Congressional Committee on Indian Affairs. Many film buffs will remember his role as a lawyer, helping to guarantee freedom for the slaves on the ship Amistad. But Adams' opposition to the notorious "gag rule" was probably one of the finest and most important political campaigns in history. In the early 1830s, northern abolitionists increasingly made their moral claims known to Congress through petitions. Adams was the congressman most clearly identified with the effort, as he presented most of these himself. By the middle of the decade, pro-slavery forces passed a number of measures that "tabled" any petition having to do with slavery before it could be read. This was the gag rule that prevented genuine debate on slavery. Adams attacked it with great moral force. He occasioned a near-riot within the chamber in 1837 by presenting petitions from 22 slaves. The gag rule was finally suspended in 1844, and Adams' tireless efforts helped define the terms of the coming debate. While never declaring himself an outright abolitionist, his fight against the gag rule revealed that "the Slave Power" would subvert free speech – and, potentially any American right – to defend this inhuman institution. He never hewed to a party, but by being the finest specimen of 19th-century Yankee conservatism, he became one of the age's leading liberals. His legacy is now too large for any ideological faction or party. Adams' death was met with a mourning that fully recognized his great role in the life of the American Republic. On Presidents Day, perhaps we ought to mourn the loss of America's best mediocre president again.
Situational Lightning Climatologies - Wednesday, 01 September 2010 This technique assists in the preparation of lightning forecasts for aviation, power companies, and sporting-event applications. Research has revealed distinct spatial and temporal distributions of lightning occurrence that are strongly influenced by large-scale atmospheric flow regimes. It was believed there were two flow systems, but it has been discovered that actually there are seven distinct flow regimes. Map of Central Florida shows the locations of nine sites in the NWS MLB CWA surrounded by 5-, 10-, 20-, and 30-nmi (≈9.3-, 18.5-, 37-, 55.6-km) radius range rings. The Applied Meteorology Unit made changes such that the 5- and 10-nmi (≈9.3- and 18.5-km) radius range rings are consistent with the aviation forecast requirements at NSW MLB." class="caption" align="left">The Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU) has recalculated the lightning climatologies for the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF), and the eight airfields in the National Weather Service in Melbourne (NWS MLB) County Warning Area (CWA) using individual lightning strike data to improve the accuracy of the climatologies. A 19-year record of cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning strikes was assembled and manipulated into a usable database of lightning information based on day and time of occurrence, distance from the airfield, and wind flow regime. The software determines the location of each CG lightning strike with 5-, 10-, 20-, and 30-nmi (≈9.3-, 18.5-, 37-, 55.6-km) radii from each airfield. Each CG lightning strike is binned at 1-, 3-, and 6-hour intervals at each specified radius. The software merges the CG lightning strike time intervals and distance with each wind flow regime and creates probability statistics for each time interval, radii, and flow regime, and stratifies them by month and warm season. The AMU also updated the graphical user interface (GUI) with the new data. As in the previous phase, the AMU stratified the climatologies for each location by time interval, distance, and flow regime. New for this phase, the AMU included all data regardless of flow regime as one of the stratifications, added monthly stratifications, used modified flow regimes, and added three years of data to the period of record. The AMU used individual strike data from the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) instead of NLDN-gridded lightning data to create more accurate climatological values for each range ring than was possible with the gridded data set. Individual strike data is more advantageous than gridded strike data because it simplifies the data processing, it provides more accurate climatologies, and it does not require estimating circular range rings from square grids. In addition, to better meet customer requirements, the AMU made changes such that the 5- and 10-nmi (≈9.3- and 18.5-km) radius range rings are consistent with the aviation forecast requirements at NWS MLB, while the 20- and 30-nmi (≈37- and 55.6-km) radius range rings at the SLF assist Spaceflight Metrology Group (SMG) in making forecasts for weather Flight Rule violations of lightning occurrence during a shuttle landing. This work was done by William Bauman and Winifred Crawford of ENSCO, Inc. for Kennedy Space Center. For more information, download the Technical Support Package (free white paper) at www.techbriefs.com/tsp under the Software category. KSC-13374 This Brief includes a Technical Support Package (TSP). Situational Lightning Climatologies (reference KSC-13374) is currently available for download from the TSP library. Please Login at the top of the page to download.
The world is getting warmer… but you might not realize it depending on where you live or if you are one of those who spend their days watching shows and ordering food online. In fact, you might’ve even had a really cold, hard winter, making you question all this climate “science stuff,” right? Well, adverse and erratic climate conditions are byproducts of a warming planet. Cold winters and abnormally severe storm seasons are among the side-effects of a rise in global temperature. And, this is the end result of a rise in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, a measurement that now stands at over 400 parts per millionth, the highest it’s ever been on the planet for the last 200 million years. You might also be surprised to learn that roughly 97 percent of all scientists on the entire planet all agree that climate change is real. That ranks among the greatest scientific consensus in human history. Climate change is measurable through science. And, the cause is largely due to human industrialization. Truth be told, the same scientific methodology that tells us how a smartphone works is the same process used to tell us how climate change works. So, consider this, if you’re on the fence about climate change, or if you don’t believe climate change is real, you might as well not believe in science at all. Fortunately, many advances in sustainable energy have been made over the last 40 years. This includes development in wind energy production, nuclear power, and hydroelectric power. But the most abundant source, the source that we cannot live without and is responsible for all life on Earth, is actually our most reliable source of renewable energy. Solar power is the most abundant, and the most prevalent source of energy in the entire solar system, and here we’ll explore just how this can be applied in our world today. Big facts first: There’s enough solar energy hitting the planet each hour to power the entire world for a full year. If you think about it, if we had the technology to capture the sun’s energy for just one hour and disperse it across the planet, there would be no need for coal, oil, or fossil fuels for energy sources at all. To put it in a smaller scale perspective, if we had a large enough field of solar panels and the means to connect this source to output stations across the United States, say a small area of solar panels in the middle of North Dakota or the Mojave desert, we’d produce more than twice the energy output of all the nation’s energy resources combined per year. So, yes, the sun is powerful. And it’s the most abundant source of energy we have access to. But, how are we using it? You may have heard of the large-scale solar panel fields that can be found across the country. But, these solar panels are also being made smaller and more effective for single-family homes, apartment buildings, and commercial spaces as well. Today, the rise in awareness and the need for environmental sustainability practices has become an attractive quality for both businesses and individuals alike. In fact, more people are willing to buy from companies that practice environmental sustainability. Even short-term vacation rentals are seeing an increase in clicks and rental averages going up once solar panels are added as a feature of the home. This also adds to the overall value of a property and allows a property owner to charge more per month or per rental, especially if you have a reputable property management company overseeing the maintenance and overall operations of your property. Additionally, companies like Target, Walmart, and Apple are all the top buyers of solar energy with Target being the largest, averaging 147.5 MW of solar generation, with Walmart as a close second. As you may probably be aware, these three companies are among the largest and wealthiest in the world, and this has a good bit to do with the attractive nature of their environmentally sound business models. Most people have scoffed at solar energy in the past because of the reported high costs associated with deploying and maintaining solar equipment. While this was the case years ago, the truth is that solar energy is actually much cheaper than fossil fuels. Sure, the average homeowner typically doesn’t have the capital to go out to the store and buy a solar panel system for the entire home. Most of this equipment is costly, and still in the development phase to make it more affordable. But, as a whole, solar energy production itself is far cheaper than most any other type of energy production. To put it in simple terms, a little over 40 years ago, in 1977, the cost to make a single solar cell was 77 dollars per watt. Today, it’s estimated that it only costs less than 21 cents per watt for a single solar cell. This is a considerable difference, especially when you consider the fact that it only costs 39 cents per watt to make a full solar unit today. On the larger scale, solar energy power only costs 4.3 cents per kilowatt to produce output sufficient for use. This is far cheaper than any modern fossil fuel-burning power plant in the world today. Solar power largely runs on solar energy collected by a photovoltaic (PV) system. These are the solar cells that capture solar radiation and transfer it into usable energy. In addition to having a PV system, solar energy requires the means to store and disperse the energy efficiently. The latter of which is still in the development stage for large-scale use, but is functional and cost-effective for most residential solar systems. Though a PV and storage system are the two main components of a solar system, there are several other critical parts of this system that have to be used as well. While you can generate power from a rooftop solar PV system and have it stored either in your personal storage system or a nearby solar installation on the power grid, you have to have the means of using it in the home as well. This is where an inverter comes into play. An inverter is what allows the energy to be converted from direct current DC power to alternating current, AC power. AC is the most common in households across the United States, thus the need for several types of inverters depending on the solar system itself. Types of inverter systems are as follows: - String Inverters: Used for connecting your solar panels to an electrical outlet in the home. - Micro-Inverters: While string inverters transfer power from the entire solar panel system to the home, micro-inverters are attached to every single solar cell, making them more effective at transferring power. - Power Optimizers: This technology combines both the string inverter and micro-inverter into one hybrid unit and they are much more affordable. Some inverters, particularly ones with micro-inverters and power optimizers, allow a user to track the solar output from each individual cell. This feature also allows a user to tell when a cell needs repair or replacement. Many homeowners are surprised to learn that the solar panels responsible for capturing the energy are not simply glued or nailed to the roof, causing damage. Depending on the pitch of your roof, and the location of your roof in relation to the path of the sun, solar panels need to be installed onto a racking system to be effective. Racking systems allow the installer to properly angle the panels in order to absorb the maximum amount of solar energy possible. While some racking systems are stationary and can be raised or lowered manually, others are powered with hydraulic systems and can be moved, pivoted, and angled remotely. A racking system can be elaborate as well, but this all depends on the overall design of your home and its location on the planet. Solar energy has been met with skepticism for many years, especially concerning its practical and cost-effective application. It’s no wonder that solar energy production is often at the table of political debate, as many energy lobbyists try to keep the production and development at bay in order to facilitate more capital for fossil fuel production. No matter the skepticism or the hype surrounding solar production, below are several facts that many simply aren’t aware of when it comes to solar energy production and implementation in the United States and around the world. - China is the world’s leader in solar energy production. You might think that China is the world’s biggest polluter, and this is true on a massive scale, but they also have 1 billion more people living in the country than in the United States. Regardless, in 2017, China installed over 50 GW of solar power output systems. This is enough to power over 8 million U.S. homes. - California is the biggest producer of solar energy in the United States. California gets nearly 20 percent of its energy from solar output facilities. In addition to this, California has produced some of the largest solar power plants in the world. And, the solar power used within the state is an amalgam of both residential rooftop systems and large-scale power collection fields. - Nearly 40 percent of new energy production in 2016 was solar energy. Yes, the United States is beginning to take advantage of the sun, and this was evident over five years ago, and has grown tremendously since then. This number is forecast to rise from 5 percent to 10 percent more solar power output each year for the next decade. Some states around the country are now offering alternatives to fossil fuel usage. In Texas, if you buy or rent a home and you go to your local power company, you’ll get a list of power plans. Many of these plans are hybrids and offer both wind and solar options along with fossil fuel-generated power. The hybrid plans offered in several states are often far cheaper during peak usage times of the year than with fossil fuel power alone. In fact, a single-family home’s average energy cost in 2018 ran just under $120 a month during the hottest months of the year. In addition to the solar options offered in some states, homeowners with solar installations also get little perks as well. If you have a PV system and are hooked up to the power grid for storage purposes, and if you produce more energy than you use through your solar system, the power company will cut you a check for the surplus energy that you produced. While many Americans are just realizing the financial benefits of most sustainability measures, many people across the globe are beginning to feel the effects of climate disruption. Today, it’s far more attractive to be environmentally conscientious and do your part to reduce your carbon footprint in whatever way possible. We all need to use energy. But, what’s good for the planet, is ultimately good for humanity. And, the sun is our biggest ally when it comes to energy production. Today the applications for solar energy production are still being developed to deliver more energy at a faster, more cost-effective rate. And, with the pace of modern technology always advancing, it’s projected that within the next two decades we’ll have more sustainable energy output systems in place than we do fossil fuel power generation. We can only develop better, more powerful and efficient technology from here. And, what was considered next-generation in the 1970s is now nearly considered obsolete technology. The same will be the case in the next 40 years. One day, we’ll all look back at our smartphones from 2020 and laugh at how slow or inefficient they were; a difficult thought for anyone to wrap their mind around today by far. The same will be true when it comes to solar energy production and equipment. It might be a little costly in the residential sector now, but just wait until a few brilliant minds put their heads together. When it comes to technology, they often say the sky’s the limit, but, just maybe it’s the sun. - Making Invitations for a Gathering? Should You Choose Color or Black and White Printing?When the COVID-19 pandemic was in its early stages, life changed dramatically. Public officials instituted stay-at-home orders, insisted that people wear masks in public places, and even required everyone to limit how many people they associated with to stop the spread of the virus. Did... The post Making Invitations for a Gathering? Should You Choose […]
Catholic school boards bowing to secularism. Because of full funding, very rapid expansion required the hiring of many teachers, some of whom had little loyalty to the Church. This weakening solidarity was further encouraged by open dissent from Catholic teaching among many teachers in the 1980s and 1990s, organized by the feminists around Joanna Manning and the bi-weekly (and now defunct) Catholic New Times newspaper. This dissent was given intellectual credence by theologians and priests in Europe and North America. Consequently, a good number of Catholics voted with their feet and began to homeschool their children. Today, there are some 20,000 homeschoolers in Ontario, many of them Catholic. Secularism was and is aided and abetted by a corrosive cultural climate and the promotion of a morally permissive lifestyle. This has affected, above all, the family and marriage. In Canada, in 2005, the situation was made even more difficult when Parliament legislated legal equality for an unnatural and false imitation of marriage--so-called same-sex marriage (SSM). Equality for SSM Over the last 10 years, Catholic Insight has devoted much effort to explaining the dangers and ill consequences of granting homosexuals legal equality with traditional marriage (see our website: www.catholicinsight.com, for some 30 or more articles on the subject). Today, this phenomenon is beginning to penetrate the Ontario Catholic school system. (See our April, 2007, article, "Who controls the souls of our children?" which gives some examples). One serious difficulty in the debate surrounding the homosexual issue in the schools and society, often not recognized by those unfamiliar with the "gay" drive for equality, is the double meaning of terms used in common by both those who resist the approval of the homosexual lifestyle and those who promote it, terms such as sexual orientation and homophobia. (See the article "Ontario bishops address homosexuality in schools," C.I., Jan. 2007, esp. page 17. See also our Website). Homophobia is a prime example. What does it mean? Those who oppose the homosexual lifestyle, such as the Catholic Church, use the term to indicate opposition and condemnation of aggression and unjust discrimination against members of the homosexual community. But the homosexualist collective, on the other hand, applies homophobia to anyone who disagrees that homosexuality is a healthy and normative lifestyle. In their mind, homophobia comprises any opposition, no matter what it may be. In April, Catholic Insight reported lengthy articles in the February and March, 2007, issues of the homosexual Xtra! newspapers, declaring open warefare on all private schools and especially, all Catholic schools, accusing them of "religious bullying" and "homophobia." The homosexual collective demands that all opposition to the homosexual way of life cease immediately; it says such opposition should be classified as "hatred," punishable under provincial Human Rights codes and even under federal hate-crime laws. And experience shows that various Human Rights Commissions agree with them. The Hamilton-Wentworth Family Action Council has described its ongoing struggle with the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) to preserve the right to oppose the homosexual lifestyle in the public school system (see its website: www.hamiltonfamilyaction.org). The HWDSB even rejects medical and scientific facts as "homophobic." In Kitchener, ON, too, there is a struggle going on. The Defend Traditional Marriage and Family organization consisting of pro-life supporters recently reported on its efforts to protect children in the Waterloo Catholic District School Board from the board's own Family Life Advisory Committee (FLAC). In recent times this board appears to have approved referrals of Catholic students to a therapist who has spent years promoting the homosexual lifestyle. The board also appears to have approved pro-homosexual materials, a workshop, and a three-year program ("OK 2B Me") in support of what it claims are 'gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans-sexual and queer' children, aged 5 to 18. It also approved the organization PFLAG--Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (LifeSiteNews.com, August 9, 2007). On September 5, the WCDSB issued a News Release declaring that all these allegations are falsehoods. It denounced its accusers. Yet, the News Release itself gives everything away. It tries to defend the term homophobia by suggesting that "the Catholic Church, the Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario and Waterloo Catholic District School Board" are one in their "stand on the issue of homophobia and the dignified treatment of homosexual people." (p.5). But, of course, they are not. Ontario school policies and the Ontario Human Rights Commission's views are now interpreted as the homosexualist collective would like it: "any bias and any comment or action that is known to be unwelcome" is described by the Ontario Human Rights Code as "harassment" and, therefore, discriminatory and punishable. On August 15 we learned that in May 2007, the TCDSB, in its document Workplace Harassment, had moved to prohibit all teachers and staff from complaining or objecting to "same-sex partner status." It turns out that two other unacceptable prohibitions had previously been imposed already, namely "marital status" and "sexual orientation." We sent e-mails to the board's 12 trustees, asking for an explanation, but by September 13, not a single reply had been received. What does it all mean? The Catholic philosophy of education has always maintained that the teacher has to be an example and model of Catholic integrity. But the TCDSB, Canada's largest Catholic school board, tells us that teachers' personal lives--that is, whether they are divorced, have mistresses, or live common-law--are purely private and of no one else's concern. Staff, parents, nor anyone else may object. Just when this prohibition on the questioning of the marital status of teachers or staff was introduced into the document Workplace Harassment is not known to me. But, it appears to have been some time ago. It is directly contrary to the history of Catholic education in Canada. Sometime later, the TCDSB must have decided that "sexual orientation" is also beyond discussion. Readers will remember that the term has never been defined, which is the reason parliamentarians discussing a proposed Charter of Rights in 1981 and 1982 refused to include it in Section 15 of the final document. However, that was changed by the Supreme Court in 1995, without discussion or the presentation of evidence. As we explained in April, the Vatican never uses this term, again because of its double meaning. The Church uses the term "attraction." Sexual orientation, on the other hand, has been given the interpretation that GLBTTQ persons are born that way, and that the condition is permanent, both incorrect notions. Meanwhile, the scope of the term "sexual orientation" has steadily grown. First, it meant "gay" and lesbian. Then "bisexual" was added, making the acronym GLB. But it kept growing and today has broadened to GLBTTQ with the addition of "trans-gendered," "two-spirited" and "queer." A definition provided by the American Psychiatric Association lists 25 or more possible weird additions--all of them, by Christian standards, aberrations and perversions. But the TDCSB tells us these phenomena may not be questioned or opposed in its schools. In May 2007, this board added a prohibition against questioning "same-sex partner status," the kind of questioning we had done in an April 2007 article about a teacher at Cardinal Carter Academy of the Arts in North York, ON. The issue that arises is this: who has introduced these anti-Catholic prohibitions? As mentioned above, no answers have been forthcoming from the board itself. Anyone familiar with school board meetings will know that they are dominated by the administration, not the trustees. The administration knows what it wants done and what it wants to avoid doing. In questions like this, lawyers are usually involved as well. Many lawyers today do not believe in God's law (natural moral law), only in the law of the land. One can readily imagine getting legal advice saying that, as long as homosexuals do not openly proselytize, nothing can be done about them. But that is not acceptable to Catholics. When a person, who publicly presents him or herself as no longer adhering to Catholic standards of behaviour, steps before a class of children, he or she is proselytizing for a point of view opposed to Catholic teaching. Today, then, the TCDSB prohibits all comments on marital status, sexual orientation (whatever that may mean ten years from now) and "same-sex partner status." This can only be understood in one way: the TDSCB no longer accepts Catholic teaching on homosexuality or on the nature of the Catholic school. When lawyers say that there is nothing wrong with such an anti-harassment policy, it is because they themselves are ignorant of what is going on in the world. Canada has witnessed fifteen years or more of provincial Human Rights Commissions punishing all opposition to the drive for legal and cultural equality ranging from city mayors declining to celebrate Gay Pride days to numerous individuals who did no more than declining to cooperate. People keep asking: "What's wrong with same-sex 'marriage'? I don't see anything wicked in it!" The first effect of making so-called same-sex marriage legal and giving it "equality" with real marriage was the legal abolition of real marriage; i.e., the Judeo-Christian definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman. It no longer exists in Canadian law. The only definition in law that exists today is the one that suits homosexual activists. The next consequence that follows from destroying the true understanding of marriage is the imposition of a false understanding. This is what we face now. Comment: Readers can find the names of the 12 TDCSB trustees, as well as their mailing and e-mail addresses, in the August 29, 2007 daily dispatch of LifeSiteNews.com. Fr. Alphonse de Valk, a member of the Congregation of Saint Basil (C.S.B.), is the editor of this magazine. \|Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback\| \|Title Annotation:\|\|ONTARIO ELECTION * SECTION\| \|Author:\|\|de Valk, Alphonse\| \|Date:\|\|Oct 1, 2007\| \|Previous Article:\|\|The Ontario election: some last words.\| \|Next Article:\|\|The Rosary Apostolate in the schools: celebrating ten years of evangelization.\|
Impulsion is the fourth of the training scales and only becomes relevant and useful once the first three scales are fairly secure. - The Scales of Training: Scale 1 – Rhythm - The Scales of Training: Scale 2 – Suppleness - The Scales of Training: Scale 3 – Contact Asking for too much impulsion before scales one to three are established can cause problems, as the horse will not yet have the physical ability to manage a lot of impulsion without stiffening or coming against the hand. He should be forward-thinking and reactive to your driving aids but beware of pushing him for an inappropriate amount of impulsion too early on. So what exactly is impulsion? The FEI defines impulsion as: “The transmission of controlled, propulsive energy generated from the hindquarters into the athletic movement of the eager horse. Its ultimate expression can be shown only through the horse’s soft and swinging back, and is guided by the gentle contact with the rider’s hand.” What do you need to achieve impulsion? Aside from the scales already mentioned, other pre-requisites are: - a fair degree of balance - freedom from tension/anxiety - understanding of both the driving aids and the controlling aids - lack of resistance anywhere in the body or mind - forward-thinking (FORWARD is an attitude of mind, not speed) - elastic movement of the limbs - active hind leg with vigorous bending of the joints - a ‘quick’ hind leg, which does not trail out behind the body, but picks up ready to move forward again at (or only just past) the point where the hock moves behind the point of the buttocks - hind legs that step forward under the center of gravity - the ability to over-track Too little impulsion causes: - lack of athleticism - flat, un-elastic paces - obvious aids needed just to keep going - slow response to the aids - difficulty producing medium and extended paces - struggling with lateral work Too much impulsion (yes, it is possible to have too much!) can lead to: - difficulty in controls - short neck - contact issues Results of impulsion: - power – the ability to produce a range of variations within the paces - thrust – to increase the spring off the ground in trot and canter - a more pronounced rhythm to the paces which combines with the increased suspension to produce cadence - ability to maintain rhythm and suspension in all work, especially lateral movements - willingness and eagerness to obey the rider’s aids - an impression of controlled power - makes the horse exciting to watch and exhilarating to ride Impulsion is the ingredient that makes dressage exciting and easy to ride, just beware of focusing on it too early in the training. Provided your horse is forward-thinking and reactive to your driving aids, be patient and wait for the first three scales to be secure before you add too much drive, and always remember that impulsion does not equal speed. If you get the earlier stages right impulsion will be easy to add, and then your training will really take off! - Why ALL Dressage Riders Need to Know The Scales of Training - How to Encourage Your Horse to Work More Forwards, But Not Faster - How to Create Energy in the Dressage Horse - How to Create More Jump in the Canter
full title · Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead author · Tom Stoppard type of work · Play genre · Black comedy; parody; satire language · English time and place written · 1964–1965; London, England date of first publication · 1967 publisher · Grove Press tone · Witty; playful; sly; sarcastic; bleak; angst-ridden setting (time) · Late 1500s (Elizabethan era) setting (place) · Middle of nowhere; Hamlet’s court; a boat protagonist(s) · Rosencrantz and Guildenstern major conflict · Rosencrantz and Guildenstern attempt to discover the cause of Hamlet’s apparent madness and their own purpose in the world. rising action · Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are sent for by Claudius to ascertain the cause of Hamlet’s strange behavior. Along the way, they encounter a bizarre troupe of traveling actors and become involved in a series of inexplicable occurrences and confusing situations. climax · While escorting Hamlet to England, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern discover that he is to be killed upon arrival. At long last faced with an opportunity to make a meaningful choice, they fail to act and discover that their own lives will be sacrificed. falling action · Rosencrantz and Guildenstern despair upon realizing that they are to be put to death and confusedly lament their failure to avoid their situation. themes · The incomprehensibility of the world; the difficulty of making meaningful choices; the relationship between life and the stage motifs · Shakespeare’s Hamlet; the Lord’s Prayer; gambling symbols · The coins; the boat foreshadowing · The coin tossing foreshadows the randomness of the play’s action. The Player’s offer to let Rosencrantz and Guildenstern participate in the Tragedians’ performance foreshadows the close parallel relationship between the events at Elsinore and The Murder of Gonzago. The many references to death foreshadow the deaths at the end of Act III.
A trade fair (trade show, trade exhibition, or expo) is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products, service, study activities of rivals and examine recent market trends and opportunities. In contrast to consumer fairs, only some trade fairs are open to the public, while others can only be attended by company representatives (members of the trade, e.g. professionals) and members of the press, therefore trade shows are classified as either "public" or "trade only". A few fairs are hybrids of the two; one example is the Frankfurt Book Fair, which is trade only for its first three days and open to the general public on its final two days. They are held on a continuing basis in virtually all markets and normally attract companies from around the globe. For example, in the U.S. there are currently over 10,000 trade shows held every year, and several online directories have been established to help organizers, attendees, and marketers identify appropriate events.
Chasing Down an Asteroid for Historic Mission One of the world’s leading planetary science experts is chasing down a nearby asteroid to help retrieve the first-ever sample from one in orbit. Humberto Campins, a University of Central Florida professor who discovered water ice on two different asteroids last year, has just gotten the go-ahead for the NASA-sponsored OSIRIS-REx mission. The mission is a first-of-its-kind. The actual flight to the nearby asteroid will pose challenges because asteroids have unusual gravity fields and can rotate much quicker than planets. Navigating their space vehicle to land on this type of asteroid – millions of miles away from Earth – and scoop up a sample of “primitive” space rock also will be a first for the team. While Campins is leaving the navigation to others on the team, he will work with lead investigator Michael Drake from the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona, on choosing the best spot on the asteroid for obtaining the sample and what this sample will tell us about the origins of life on Earth. “This is as exciting as it gets,” Campins said from the Paris Observatory in France, where he is conducting research with European colleagues. “The asteroid fragments we will retrieve will be pristine and not modified during atmospheric entry.” Meteorites that hit the ground can lose more than 99% of their mass, and that 99% is likely to contain the most interesting information about Earth’s water and organic molecules, Campins said. “This sample could also hold very important clues about how the Earth and other planets in our solar system formed and evolved,” he added. The team had eagerly been waiting to see if NASA would select their project from a list of three finalists for a slot in the space agency’s New Frontiers Missions. The mission is part of NASA’s New Frontiers Program, a science-driven program aimed at characterizing and understanding the bodies that constitute the solar system. The goal is to “illuminate the origin, evolution, and current state of the solar system.” The non-manned mission could launch as early as 2016. This mission is expected to cost approximately $800 million, which includes funds to design the instrument that will lasso the sample and bring it back to earth. The money also will cover the cost to circle and analyze the asteroid for a year with an array of special instruments to help select the optimal sampling spot. That’s where a mechanism will scoop up the sample and place it in a capsule. That capsule later will come back to Earth, splashing in an ocean with the help of a parachute. “The even harder work will begin once we have our sample,” Campins said. “We will spend at least two years going over every piece of information we gather.” The target, asteroid RQ36, is about 600 yards in diameter and comes relatively close to Earth. The asteroid has even been designated as “potentially hazardous” because there is a 1 in 1,800 chance that it could slam into Earth in 2170. “Sure, what we learn from this mission could help us should we need to try to avert an unlikely hit in the future,” Campins said. “But the real prize is the unique and pristine material we will find and the new insights we will gain.” Primitive asteroids are remnants of the solar nebula, from which the Sun and the planets in our solar system formed, some 4.5 billion years ago. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., will provide overall mission management, systems engineering, and safety and mission assurance. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver will build the spacecraft. The OSIRIS-REx payload includes instruments from the University of Arizona, Goddard, Arizona State University in Tempe and the Canadian Space Agency. NASA’s Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., the Langley Research Center in Hampton Va., and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., also are involved. The science team is composed of numerous researchers from universities, private and government agencies.
While attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood mental health issue, adults are also frequently diagnosed with the condition, although the symptoms can manifest differently. Sudhir Gadh, MD, is a board-certified psychiatrist who helps men and women dealing with ADHD at his private practice in Union Square, New York City. He has more than ten years of experience in diagnosing and treating ADHD in adults and adolescents. If you think you might have ADHD, book an appointment online or over the phone today. "Fundamentally a condition about efficiency that when untreated can affect the ability to earn more, remain in stable relationships, be fit, avoid self-harmful intoxication and enjoy deep sleep." - Dr. Gadh ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is a prevalent mental health disorder in children, although it’s becoming more common in adults. ADHD is characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Children and adults usually display ADHD symptoms differently. When children are diagnosed with ADHD, they’re diagnosed as inattentive, hyperactive, or a combination of both. They’re typically diagnosed with the condition because of their behaviors at school or home are disruptive to their own success as well as to others around them. Adults, however, usually demonstrate ADHD symptoms slightly differently. You may be disorganized and have trouble finding your keys and wallet on a regular basis. You may also have difficulty concentrating and may struggle to meet deadlines. Furthermore, you might feel like you’re always on the go or have an urge to take over conversations. In many cases, when you’re diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, you’ve had the condition for years but managed to get by. Dr. Gadh diagnoses ADHD with a comprehensive evaluation, including a review of your medical history and a conversation about your lifestyle. Some of the questions might include: Living with ADHD as an adult can have a significant impact on your personal and professional life. It can inhibit you from reaching your full potential when left untreated. Dr. Gadh treats ADHD with a “pills and skills” approach, combining medication and therapy to help you learn to control your behaviors. Prescription medicine can increase your ability to focus, which can help you manage and complete tasks and pay attention even when the work isn’t exciting. Combined with medication, Dr. Gadh will teach you how to practice new behaviors. For example, he’ll help you develop and practice strategies to reduce distractions and create structure and organization to keep you focused and on track. If you’re concerned about ADHD, book an appointment online or over the phone with Sudhir Gadh, MD, for expert diagnosis and treatment.
What is Archeology? OverviewStudents will understand the basic principles of archeology. Students will understand historical archeology, especially how it relates to Philadelphia and Independence National Historical Park. This lesson will help prepare students for the park's "Archeology: History Found in Pieces" education program. Teachers should consult this web page about archeology at Franklin Court for reference. Teachers should also be aware that there are two different spellings: archeology and archaeology. The National Park Service uses the "archeology" spelling, but many archeologists prefer the spelling with the additional "a". Both spellings are correct. The Society for American Archaeology posted an article about the spelling of "archaeology" on their website. This lesson uses the "archeology" spelling, but proper nouns (book titles, websites, etc.) retain their original spelling. - Chart paper - Chalk board, smart board, or overhead projector Open the lesson by putting the following writing prompt on the board or overhead projector. "What can people learn about you by looking at your trash?" Allow the students time to write their responses. Have students limit their responses to a page and then ask for volunteers to share with the class. Then, as students share, start a T-Chart list on the board or overhead to keep track of the different kinds of information that can be gained and from what piece of trash. For example: broken toys = children in the house; empty food jars = diet; old homework = what school is like, etc. Historical archeologists look at trash in much the same way, only the trash they look at is hundreds of years old The teacher should facilitate a discussion about what archeology is (studying artifacts left behind by humans) and what it is not (studying dinosaur bones) and explain that there are different types of archeology. Archeology encompasses the history of man in both prehistoric times (the time before man had written language) and historical (after the appearance of written records). Historical archeology, which will be the focus of these lessons, is defined as the archeological studies of people documented in recent history including early America. In Philadelphia and at Independence National Historical Park, most archeology is historical archeology. Historical archeologists study underwater ship wrecks and historical sites like Franklin Court and Mount Vernon. By the end of the discussion, students should understand that archeology is the study of the way people lived in the past and archeologists learn about the past by studying the things people leave behind like buildings, pottery, tools, and graves Refer back to the opening activity and compare the T-Chart list from the students' writing to historical archeologists excavating and examining the remains of an 18th century privy pit, trying to learn about the people who lived there and threw their trash into that pit over 200 years ago. Looking at the list students came up with for their trash, how many items would survive if they were buried in the ground for 200 years? If you analyzed only those artifacts that still remained, would your conclusions change? If so, how? This lesson plan ties to many places in the park including the President's House Site, National Constitution Center, and Franklin Court. - Write a letter to the editor about the importance of archeology and historic preservation. Make it specific to a site in your city, if possible. - Research other kinds of archeology (besides urban archeology). Examples include industrial, underwater, experimental, and classical archeology. What are the similarities and differences to historical archeology in an urban setting? - Look for examples of archeology in popular culture such as movies, books, and television. Then, using your understanding of what archeology is and what archeologists do, write a commentary describing it your example is an accurate portrayal of archeology. Learn about archeology at Franklin Court. This website has information on the basics of archeology all related to Benjamin Franklin and life at Franklin Court. The Society for Historical Archaeology's website has a special section for kids to learn about careers in archeology. Find activities, resources, and much more for encouraging a child's interest in archeology as well as encouraging stewardship for archeological heritage. Cotter, John L., Daniel G. Roberts and Michael Parrington. The Buried Past: An Archaeological History of Philadelphia. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992. Hansen, Joyce and Gary McGowan. Breaking Ground, Breaking Silence: The Story of New York's African Burial Ground. Henry Hold & Company, 1998. Panchyk, Richard. Archaeology for Kids: Uncovering the Mysteries of Our Past. Chicago Review Press, 2001. Samford, Patricia and David L. Ribblett. Archaeology for Young Explorers: Uncovering History at Colonial Williamsburg. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1999. The Diary of Elizabeth Drinker, edited by Elaine Forman Crane. Northwest University Press, 1991.
\|I have received several requests from my readers for some easy to create text effects. One of the easiest ways to create text effects is to use the built-in FlashR Timeline Effects and apply them to text. Although this article is about text, these effects can be applied to other things on the stage such as shapes, graphics, grouped objects, bitmaps and more. Flash does all the work and you have control over the properties of the effects via the dialog box. As you build your effect, you can use the update preview to test the effect before applying it to the object.\| These effects are called Timeline Effects because they change objects over several frames of your Flash movie. You can tell this because Flash adds the frames to the Timeline and renames the layer for you. How the object changes is determined by the type of effect you choose to apply. Letís take a look at the four basic Timeline Effects. Explode Timeline Effect As the name suggests, this effect will break up the object into several pieces and these pieces will move outward from where the original object once was on the stage. In the dialog box, you can control the duration or number of frames, the direction and arc that the pieces will travel and the rotation, alpha and size of the pieces. Think of all the ways you can use this 3D effect. Flash creates the drop shadow by duplicating the object and placing the duplicate behind and offset from the original. Of course, it also needs to reduce the opacity of the duplicate so that it appears to be a shadow. You have control over the opacity, the color of the shadow and the amount of offset. Making something appear to fade away has so many uses. Flash creates this effect by changing the opacity of the object over time. With this effect, you can control the duration, resolution, scale, direction and the horizontal and vertical blur. The expand effect is similar to the Explode effect but instead of the letters breaking apart, the letters grow in size, which gives the illusion that the letters are getting larger and closer. You can control the number of frames, the direction of the movement, the center point from which the letters move away from and the offset and size of the letters. You have the option to make the letters expand outward, squeeze inward or both. Join us in the forum and share the many ways you have used these effects in your Flash projects.
There have been many great individuals in various fields of human endeavor throughout history from science to the arts, philosophy to politics, business to technology, but none of these greats has spilled more blood than the greatest warriors in history. Alaric I, was the first king of the Visigoths from 395–410, son of chieftain Rothestes. He is best known for his sack of Rome in 410, which marked a decisive event in the decline of the Western Roman Empire. Alaric began his career under the Gothic soldier Gainas and later joined the Roman army. Count Roland was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. The historical Roland was military governor of the Breton March, responsible for defending Francia's frontier against the Bretons. His only historical attestation is in Einhard's Vita Karoli Magni, which notes he was part of the Frankish rearguard killed by rebellious Basques in Iberia at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass. HORATIUS COCLES, a legendary hero of ancient Rome. With two companions he defended the Sublician bridge against Lars Porsena and the whole army of the Etruscans, while the Romans cut down the bridge behind. Horatius lost his eye in a battle thanks to an arrow that he removed (with his eye still on it) and continued fighting like a beast, hence the name “Cocles,” which means “one-eyed. Vercingetorix was a king and chieftain of the Arverni tribe; he united the Gauls in a revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars. Vercingetorix was the son of Celtillus the Avernian, leader of the Gallic tribes. He battled valiantly and ferociously to keep the Roman army from overrunning Gaul, as France was then called. His troops were eventually defeated at Alesia, and Vercingetorix was forced to surrender after battling the powerful Roman army with all he had. Arminius was a German chief during the early part of the first century CE and is remembered for being a brutal warrior and a certified badass who gave the Romans the beating of their lives at the Battle of Teutoburg Forest, where he literally destroyed three Roman legions and their auxiliaries. Sun Tzu was an ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher, who is believed to have written the famous ancient Chinese book on military strategy, “The Art of War”. Through his legends and the influential “The Art of War”, Sun Tzu had a significant impact on Chinese and Asian history and culture. Xiahou Dun, courtesy name Yuanrang, was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He served for a few months under Cao Cao's successor, Cao Pi, before his death. Xiahou Dun offered his services as military general to warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty and became a legend when during a battle he was hit by a stray arrow and lost his left eye. Hannibal was one of the greatest generals and military leaders of the ancient world and a brilliant strategist, who developed tactics of outflanking and surrounding the enemy with the combined forces of infantry and cavalry. His wars with the Roman Empire were some of the most epics of all antiquity.
The Wikipedia defines science as follows. Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Definitions from various sources has to do with knowledge, investigation, study, observation, experimentation, laws, structure, behavior, explanation and systematicity. They describe science and scientific activities, instead of pointing out what the enterprise is. What science looks like? They also don’t point out what enables science, why and how humans obtain the capability to advance in science. They describe the appearances and many facets of science but don’t make known the nature of science. We are going to find out. After writing some articles on relations between written language and science, it is time for us to provide a new, text-based definition of science, which is important as a basis for carrying out future discussions of related issues. We have already proposed in previous papers that written language is the foundation of science. The idea to exclude non-texts We consider written language as the core of science, while non-texts are the goals, materials and occurrences. Certainly, scientific activities include both texts and non-texts. Both are indispensable, with non-texts seem to be the real things. Without non-texts, the world wouldn’t exist, not to mention science. However, judging by the properties, we now decided to exclude non-texts from science. Otherwise, science would include virtually all information we can experience. That might lead to uncertainty, vagueness, misunderstanding, chaos and confusion. Furthermore, we learn science mainly from books and papers. The achievement of scientists is judged by their publications. Some great discoveries are incidental. But they must be fitted into the existing textual framework to become part of the science. When science is defined based on texts, its nature and properties will be well presented. Science-related investigations will be provided a clear basis. In fact, this definition doesn’t contradict with the common definitions, since texts constitute the systematic enterprise which supports the functions science fulfills. The non-scientific texts Texts are omnipresent in our lives, recording everything. But only a portion of them is considered scientific texts. The scientific or non-scientific texts are not different in that they are symbolic and sequential. Although they possess the capability of being science, they do not necessarily fulfil the function. Texts of literature, narrative, fictions, art, instruction, music, advertisement, daily conversation, chatting message, etc. are descriptive and conveying. The sake of them is to describe the non-textual reality, which are the goal, in the center and being emphasized. This kind of texts are important in documenting, communicating the events, understanding of which are not reliant on the texts. The texts are peripheral to the non-texts and not attempting to build their own foundation. On the contrary, scientific texts are needed to understand the phenomena because of the properties of texts and the difficulties in observing the phenomena. This kind of texts are foundational but don’t represent facts. Collectively, we call them mentalistic texts. They include texts of religion, ethical belief, moral concept, philosophy, and pseudoscience. They tend to center on texts, but are not based on facts, based on vague facts or only reflect biased facts. Representing reality is not their goal. Nor are they intended to be verified. Subjectivity is an element common to this kind of texts. It is some kind of description or insistence on one’s own thought, opinion and argument, refraining from changes, rejecting challenges or denying their failure to account for the facts. Although these texts don’t aim to represent reality, most of them are derived from facts or imaginations. They serve as an emotional need, spontaneous mental behavior and alternatives to science in some cases. Although not being scientific, they are still able to establish. There is no absolute distinction between descriptive, mentalistic and scientific texts. Some portions in descriptive texts or mentalistic texts might be scientific. The same facts could be studied in different kind of texts. For example, texts about history could be descriptive if they focus on the events; or scientific if they derive some regular patterns; or mentalistic if they adhere to creationism. Indeed, scientific texts might have evolved from descriptive texts and mentalistic texts. That is why modern science was formerly called “natural philosophy”, which emerged from the integration of description of nature and the representational aspect of philosophy. The text-based definition of science Then comes the third kind of texts – science, defined as: Science is the textual foundation that represents the real world. Criteria of this definition For the key properties of written language and science, refer to the paper “Language – The Core of Science”. The basic ones are sequentiality and clarity. Now we added a third property – representation of reality. Being representational implies being processed, foundational, established and centered on. The three properties are used for judgment on whether a text is scientific or how scientific it is. In the paper “Scientific Strength of Writing Systems – The Aspects”, we had explained the sequentility and clarity aspects. The “representation of reality” aspect is discussed in the following subsection. Establishment of the representation of reality by means of visual processing The key difference between representation and description is the center is texts for the former, while non-texts being the center of the latter. The accumulation of science is based on existing representational texts, while descriptive texts conform to the facts as they are. Since non-texts are centered on, the properties of texts given in The Paper are not fully exploited in descriptive texts, although which might choose proper or beautiful language in their composition. The visual characteristic of texts makes it suitable for visual processing, which is needed to build a representation of reality. Through mental processing of the representational texts, we are able to extract consistency, commonalities and regularity, to clarify, refine and simplify information, to find contradictions, to discover new theory by reasoning, to approve or disapprove a new theory, to incorporate new theories into existing knowledge, to establish relations between existing knowledge, to organize and categorize knowledge as it expands. All these are achieved by intensive textual thinking. The sequential growth of symbolic representation is constantly checked with facts, observations and experiments for validation. The explanation of the facts in textual means is accurate and deterministic, unlikely to change and are relied upon, while the represented non-texts are themselves not sequentially related, not clearly observed or even invisible. Due to the infinite expansion of observations and experiments, the textual representations also expand accordingly in an orderly manner. Given the new definition of science, our discussions of science-related matters will be on a clear, focused and targeted course. It becomes clear that the science-centered world is in essence founded on scientific texts and the textual mind. Technology, engineering and many life-changing practices are integrated with and reliant on the textual representations. In the science-text unity, we had put more emphasis on the written language. Now, as we are shifting towards science, there is a new horizon ahead. Referred to as “The Paper” hereafter.
The Ludlow massacre refers to the violent deaths of 21:42 people during an attack by the Colorado National Guard on a tent colony of 1,200 striking coal miners and their families at Ludlow, Colorado on April 20, 1914. The deaths occurred after a day-long fight between strikers and the Guard. Two women and eleven children were asphyxiated and burned to death. Three union leaders and two strikers were killed by gunfire, along with one child, one passer-by, and one National Guardsman. In response, the miners armed themselves and attacked dozens of mines, destroying property and engaging in several skirmishes with the Colorado National Guard. This was the deadliest incident in the 14-month 1913-1914 southern Colorado Coal Strike. The strike was organized by the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) against coal mining companies in Colorado. The three largest companies involved were the Rockefeller family-owned Colorado Fuel & Iron Company (CF&I), the Rocky Mountain Fuel Company (RMF), and the Victor-American Fuel Company (VAF). Ludlow, located 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Trinidad, Colorado, is now a ghost town. The massacre site is owned by the UMWA, which erected a granite monument in memory of the miners and their families who died that day. The Ludlow Tent Colony Site was designated a National Historic Landmark on January 16, 2009, and dedicated on June 28, 2009. Modern archeological investigation largely supports the strikers' reports of the event. Mining firms had long been able to attract low-skill labor, in spite of meager wages and stiff cost-cutting policies designed to maintain profits. Conditions in the mines were often dangerous for the workers, many of whom became convinced the strength provided by union membership would provide a means to improve those conditions. Colorado miners had repeatedly attempted to unionize since the state's first strike in 1883. The Western Federation of Miners organized primarily hard rock miners in the gold and silver camps during the 1890s. Beginning in 1900, the UMWA began organizing coal miners in the western states, including southern Colorado. The UMWA decided to focus on the CF&I because of the company's harsh management tactics under the conservative and distant Rockefellers and other investors. To break or prevent strikes, the coal companies hired immigrants, mainly from Mexico and southern and eastern Europe. CF&I's management mixed immigrants of different nationalities in the mines, a practice which discouraged communication that might lead to organization. Corporate emphasis on profit and uninterrupted production took precedence over mine safety concerns. More than 1,700 miners died in Colorado between 1884 and 1912, a rate that was around 2 to 3.5 times the national average. Another grievance arose from the common practice of only paying miners based on tons of coal mined and not for the dead work (such as laying rails, timbering, and shoring the mines) required to operate the mines. The miners accused the companies of misrepresenting the amount coal mined, arguing the scales used to measure the miners' output were different from the scales used for coal customers. Miners challenging the weights risked being dismissed. Most miners also lived in "company towns" in which homes, schools, doctors, clergy, law enforcement, and stores offering a full range of goods that could be paid for in company currency (known as scrip) were provided by the company. To discourage union-building activity, company law enforcement focused on restricting the speech and assembly of the miners. Also, under pressure to maintain profitability, the mining companies reduced their spending in the towns and on their amenities while increasing prices at the company stores, worsening infrastructure and raisingcosts of living for the miners and their families. Colorado's legislature passed laws to improve the condition of the mines and towns and outlawing the use of scrip, but these laws were rarely enforced. Despite attempts to suppress union activity, secret organizing by the UMWA continued in the years leading up to 1913. Eventually, the union presented a list of seven demands on behalf of the miners: The major coal companies rejected the demands and in September 1913, the UMWA called a strike. Those who went on strike were promptly evicted from their company homes, and they moved to tent villages prepared by the UMWA. The tents were built on wood platforms and furnished with cast iron stoves on land leased by the union in preparation for a strike. When leasing the sites, the union had strategically selected locations near the mouths of canyons that led to the coal camps, for the purpose of monitoring traffic and harassing replacement workers. Confrontations between striking miners and replacement workers, referred to as "scabs" by the union, sometimes resulted in deaths. The company hired the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency to protect the replacement workers and harass the strikers. Baldwin-Felts had a reputation for aggressive strike breaking. Agents shone searchlights on the tent villages at night and fired bullets into the tents at random, occasionally killing and maiming people. They used an improvised armored car, mounted with a machine gun the union called the "Death Special," to patrol the camp's perimeters. The steel-covered car was built in the CF&I plant in Pueblo, Colorado from the chassis of a large touring sedan. Frequent sniper attacks on the tent colonies drove the miners to dig protective pits beneath the tents where they and their families could be better protected. As strike-related violence mounted, Colorado governor Elias M. Ammons called in the Colorado National Guard on October 28. At first, the Guard's appearance calmed the situation, but the sympathies of Guard leaders lied with company management. Guard Adjutant-General John Chase, who had served during the violent Cripple Creek strike 10 years earlier, imposed a harsh regime. On March 10, 1914, the body of a replacement worker was found on the railroad tracks near Forbes, Colorado. The National Guard said that the man had been murdered by the strikers. In retaliation, Chase ordered the Forbes tent colony destroyed. The attack was launched while the inhabitants were attending a funeral of infants who had died a few days earlier. The attack was witnessed by photographer Lou Dold, whose images of the destruction appear often in accounts of the strike. The strikers persevered until the spring of 1914. By then, the state had run out of money to maintain the Guard, and was forced to recall them. The governor and the mining companies, fearing a breakdown in order, left two Guard units in southern Colorado and allowed the coal companies to finance a residual militia consisting largely of CF&I camp guards in National Guard uniforms. On the morning of April 20, the day after Easter was celebrated by the many Greek immigrants at Ludlow, three Guardsmen appeared at the camp ordering the release of a man they claimed was being held against his will. This request prompted the camp leader, Louis Tikas, to meet with a local militia commander at the train station in Ludlow village, a half mile (0.8 km) from the colony. While this meeting was progressing, two companies of militia installed a machine gun on a ridge near the camp and took a position along a rail route about half a mile south of Ludlow. Anticipating trouble, Tikas ran back to the camp. The miners, fearing for the safety of their families, set out to flank the militia positions. A firefight soon broke out. The fighting raged for the entire day. The militia was reinforced by non-uniformed mine guards later in the afternoon. At dusk, a passing freight train stopped on the tracks in front of the Guards' machine gun placements, allowing many of the miners and their families to escape to an outcrop of hills to the east called the "Black Hills." By 7:00 p.m., the camp was in flames, and the militia descended on it and began to search and loot the camp. Louis Tikas had remained in the camp the entire day and was still there when the fire started. Tikas and two other men were captured by the militia. Tikas and Lt. Karl Linderfelt, commander of one of two Guard companies, had confronted each other several times in the previous months. While two militiamen held Tikas, Linderfelt broke a rifle butt over his head. Tikas and the other two captured miners were later found shot dead. Their bodies lay along the Colorado and Southern tracks for three days in full view of passing trains. The militia officers refused to allow them to be moved until a local of a railway union demanded the bodies be taken away for burial. During the battle, four women and eleven children had been hiding in a pit beneath one tent, where they were trapped when the tent above them was set on fire. Two of the women and all of the children suffocated. These deaths became a rallying cry for the UMWA, who called the incident the "Ludlow Massacre." In addition to the fire victims, Louis Tikas and the other men who were shot to death, three company guards and one militiaman were killed in the day's fighting. In response to the Ludlow massacre, the leaders of organized labor in Colorado issued a call to arms, urging union members to acquire "all the arms and ammunition legally available," and a large-scale guerrilla war ensued, lasting ten days. In Trinidad, Colorado, UMWA officials openly distributed arms and ammunition to strikers at union headquarters. 700 to 1,000 strikers "attacked mine after mine, driving off or killing the guards and setting fire to the buildings." At least fifty people, including those at Ludlow, were killed in ten days of fighting against mine guards and hundreds of militia reinforcements rushed back into the strike zone. The fighting ended only when US President Woodrow Wilson sent in Federal troops. The troops, who reported directly to Washington, DC, disarmed both sides, displacing and often arresting the militia in the process. This conflict, called the Colorado Coalfield War, was the most violent labor conflict in US history; the reported death toll ranged from 69 in the Colorado government report to 199 in an investigation ordered by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. The UMWA finally ran out of money, and called off the strike on December 10, 1914. In the end, the strikers failed to obtain their demands, the union did not obtain recognition, and many striking workers were replaced by new workers. Over 400 strikers were arrested, 332 of whom were indicted for murder. Only one man, John Lawson, leader of the strike, was convicted of murder, and that verdict was eventually overturned by the Colorado Supreme Court. Twenty-two National Guardsmen, including 10 officers, were court-martialed. All were acquitted, except Lt. Linderfelt, who was found guilty of assault for his attack on Louis Tikas. However, he was given only a light reprimand. Rev. Cook pastored the local church in Trinidad, Colorado. He was one of the few Pastors in Trinidad who tried to provide Christian burials to the deceased victims of the Ludlow Massacre. Cook died in 1938. Although the UMWA failed to win recognition by the company, the strike had a lasting impact both on conditions at the Colorado mines and on labor relations nationally. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. engaged labor relations experts and future Canadian Prime Minister W. L. Mackenzie King to help him develop reforms for the mines and towns, which included paved roads and recreational facilities, as well as worker representation on committees dealing with working conditions, safety, health, and recreation. There was to be no discrimination against workers who had belonged to unions, and the establishment of a company union. The Rockefeller plan was accepted by the miners in a vote. A United States Commission on Industrial Relations (CIR), headed by labor lawyer Frank Walsh, conducted hearings in Washington, collecting information and taking testimony from all the principals. The commission's report suggested many reforms sought by the unions, and provided support for bills establishing a national eight-hour work day and a ban on child labor. The UMWA eventually bought the site of the Ludlow tent colony in 1916. Two years later, they erected the Ludlow Monument to commemorate those who had died during the strike. The monument was damaged in May 2003 by unknown vandals. The repaired monument was unveiled on June 5, 2005, with slightly altered faces on the statues. Several popular songs have been written and recorded about the events at Ludlow. Among them is "Ludlow Massacre" by American folk singer Woody Guthrie, and "The Monument (Lest We Forget)" by Irish musician Andy Irvine. The last survivor of the Ludlow Massacre, Mary Benich-McCleary, died of a stroke at the age of 94 on June 28, 2007. She was 18 months old when the massacre occurred. McCleary's parents and her two brothers narrowly escaped death when the conductor of the train that brought the militia to the tent colony stopped the train to shield the family and others trying to flee, but Mary had been left behind. A 16-year-old boy heard her screams, gathered her up into his coat and then ran into the woods. Mary and the boy were found several days later, still hiding. McCleary's daughter said family members didn't speak of the massacre. The following individuals died in the massacre and are listed on the Ludlow Monument: Repaired Ludlow Monument showing "scar" Repaired Ludlow Monument showing scarf covering scar Repaired Ludlow Monument and visitor Repaired Ludlow Monument following restoration
Books & Music Food & Wine Health & Fitness Hobbies & Crafts Home & Garden News & Politics Religion & Spirituality Travel & Culture TV & Movies Medications to Prevent Breast Cancer All women and some men are at risk of developing breast cancer. There isnít a single factor that guarantees the development of breast cancer but some are stronger than others. In addition the factors can have a cumulative effect. There are medications available to prevent breast cancer but these should only be prescribed for women with specific factors. The side effects and potential for other problems prohibits the use of these medications in women at average or slightly higher than average risk. Women who should consider using these endocrine therapies are those who fall into the high risk categories. Women with known genetic mutations that lead to breast cancer who have not undergone a prophylactic mastectomy are clearly candidates for this therapy. The most commonly recognized mutations are BRCA1 and BRCA2. Women who have been diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) and those with atypical hyperplasia especially over the age of 35. Women ages 35-59 who have a calculated 5 year breast cancer risk of 1.66% should be counseled on this option for prevention. Finally all women over the age of 60 should be considered. Selective estrogen receptor modulators were the first to be widely used. The most commonly used are Tamoxifen and Raloxifene. They work by blocking estrogen receptors in the breast preventing the proliferative effect of estrogen on this tissue. In other tissues they may act as receptor activators, simulating estrogen thereby producing estrogen like effects. The other type of medication is aromatase inhibitors which are relatively new and act by decreasing the circulating levels of estrogen in postmenopausal women. Tamoxifen is the most commonly used medication to prevent primary and recurrent breast cancer. It decreases the risk of developing cancer by 50%. It has anti-estrogen effects in the breast but agonistic effects in the uterus and other tissues. Women who take this medication have a higher risk of developing endometrial cancer and should be monitored appropriately. Women who take this medication also have an increased risk of venous thromboembolism such as a deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and stroke. Raloxifene was initially approved for the prevention of osteoporosis because of its agonist effects on the bone helping to maintain density. Like Tamoxifen it has an antagonist effect on the breast reducing the incidence of invasive breast cancer by 72% at 4 years and 66% by 8 years. The major bothersome side effects are hot flashes and leg cramps. There is also an increased risk of venous thromboembolism. The aromatase inhibitors include Letrozole, Anastrazole and Exemestane. They block an enzyme which normally functions to convert precursors to estrogens. This therapy is effective in postmenopausal women, lowering the circulating levels of estrogen. In women who are still menstruating there is an opposite effect and therefore this is not recommended for breast cancer treatment or prevention in premenopausal women. The side effects are therefore the typical low estrogen ones such as hot flashes, genital dryness, arthralgia and low bone density. The risk of venous thromboembolism and endometrial cancer is not increased. Continued research has provided revolutionary therapies for the treatment of breast cancer improving the survival rate dramatically over the past decade. This is excellent news for the 11% of women who will develop breast cancer. Prevention however is still the ideal since no one should have to go through the anxiety, pain and fear associated with a diagnosis of breast cancer. You should see your gynecologist regularly and know your family history. Your doctor can help you asses your risk of breast cancer and direct you to the appropriate provider so you can get the care you deserve. I hope this article has provided you with information that will help you make wise choices, so you may: Live healthy, live well and live long! Content copyright © 2015 by Dr. Denise Howard. All rights reserved. This content was written by Dr. Denise Howard. If you wish to use this content in any manner, you need written permission. Contact Dr. Denise Howard for details. Website copyright © 2015 Minerva WebWorks LLC. All rights reserved.
Risk Alert Receptive Language Dr. Deborah Fein explains that presence of receptive language can be difficult to test, but there are ways to make requests of children that, if they respond, might be ways of learning about what words and/or concepts these children understand. "It's much easier to quantify what the child knows how to say than what the child really understands. If the child labels colors correctly, you know (they) know (their) colors. But how do you know for sure what a child is really understanding? " — Deborah Fein PhD Early Warning Signs related to Risk Alert Receptive Language Dr. Smith explains how the presence of receptive language can be easily over estimated by parents, who may not recognize the many situational cues and/or routines that aid a child's understanding and ability to complete a task. Given these cues, it is important to ask parents for examples of the child's ability to follow novel, purely verbal commands in order to accurately gauge a child's receptive language ability. The following clip demonstrates how a therapist uses a variety of strategies, including labelling and hand over hand instruction, to teach Leighdionne, a young girl with autism, basic skills such as pointing and making choices. The therapist also works on expanding her recognition of words. Leighdionne struggles both in identifying the objects ('sun', 'lion') and in following simple instructions (e.g. 'close book'). Dr. Soorya reviews the milestones for receptive language development and discusses ways in which these milestones can be assessed. Examples of how a child's understanding of language can be assessed are provided for both typically developing children and children on the autism spectrum. Therapies related to Risk Alert Receptive Language In the following clip, a therapist teaches Jazmere to identify his body parts as part of a speech therapy session. To confirm that Jazmere understands the meanings of these words as well as being able to repeat them, she requires that Jazmere touch each body part as he repeats it. Therapist Georgia practices receptive language skills with Lucas by asking him to point to pictures of words he recognizes. Lucas does a great job, so Georgia reinforces his behavior by giving him a toy car. Christian's therapist Tia helps him improve his receptive language skills by working on a simple, one step command: "Give me." They later practice imitation together. While typically developing children learn these skills on their own, many children with autism must be taught them. Throughout the video Christian engages in many distracting sensory seeking behaviors, including grinding his teeth, chewing on toys, looking at his fingers and making high pitched sounds. Sign in to your account× Forgot Your Password? Not a problem. Simply enter your email address and we will issue a new password.
To Kill a Mockingbird Commentary Haper lee uses numerous literary methods to broaden and improve I ideas of the characers and their surroundings. Lee specifically utilizes metaphors and listing in this extract to build an understanding of scouts point of view. Haper lee utilizes the literary strategy of listing to stimulate the sensation of scout being immature and stubborn. This is described when Haper lee state “did not drive a dump-truck for the county, he was not the constable, he did not farm, operate in a garage, or do anything that could perhaps excite the admiration of anybody. Line 2)” by saying this, harper lee is indicating that scout does not believe her dad resembles other papas, that he does not things the “regular” papas would do, this comes off as scout bring ignorant and declining of her father the method he is. An other example of listing is when scout mentions “He did refrain from doing the important things our schoolmates’ dads did: he never ever went hunting, he did not play poker or fish or beverage or smoke. He sat in the living room and read (Lee 7)” Haper lee is explaining that scout is considerate towards her father, she wants him to be like normal dads . Harper lee uses metaphors to inflict emotions in the readers. An example of an metaphor is when Harper Lee says “Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. ( Line 17). ” The metaphor is explaining that “apparently” it’s a big mistake, against your beliefs to kill a mocking bird. It seems as though that these birds a secrete untouchable. It makes you feel as though they are pure. American women played important roles during World War II, both at home and in uniform. Not only did they give their sons, husbands, fathers, and brothers to the war effort, […] Paulo Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1947. At a young age he discovered his calling of becoming a writer. Even though Coelho knew what he wanted […] While The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck and The Good Earth by Pearl Buck vary greatly in basic subject matter, their thematic content and general intent are strikingly similar. […] Margaret Atwood, renowned author of many novels, crafts the beautiful Maddaddam trilogy, consisting of Oryx and Crake, Year of the Flood, and Maddaddam. The series is portrayed as a work […] In literature, evil often triumphs but never conquers.” This simply means that in works of literature evil can hold the upper hand from the start, but in the end good […] Introduction The dialog Crito, in which Socrates explains his reasons for having chosen in favor of remaining at the prison and facing the execution, has traditionally been referred to as […] The American Faith in Money Lewis Lapham, in his book Money and Class in America, asserts that Americans have been so feverishly blinded by the “faith in money” that the […] Mistress Suffragette, written by Dianna Forbes, starts out set in 19th century New England during the panic of 1893. A time period where a womans reputation was absolutely everything. Penelope, […] This novel is the story of three families from three different cultural and Geographical backgrounds, the English-Jamaican Jones, the Bangladeshi Iqbals and the Jewish Chalfens, told mainly between 1974 and […] Haper lee uses numerous literary methods to broaden and improve I ideas of the characers and their surroundings. Lee specifically utilizes metaphors and listing in this extract to build an […]
Risk management is important for all work-related health and safety. This includes knowing the risks associated with hazardous substances in your workplace, taking appropriate measures to manage the risks and reviewing these regularly. First you need to know what you’ve got. Create an inventory of the hazardous substances manufactured, used, handled or stored in your workplace. When you know the substances and likely quantities that you will hold: - Consider whether you need them, or are there any you can eliminate or substitute with a safer product. - For the remaining substances, put in place the technical controls from the Hazardous Substances Regulations. - Assess your workplace and identify if any risks remain that you need to manage. - Use the hierarchy of controls to determine the most effective control measures to minimise those risks. - Monitor the performance of the control measures. - Maintain and review the control measures. The hierarchy of controls(external link) is set out in the Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations(external link). Essentially, it means working through the following measures until the risk to workers from hazardous substances can be removed or minimised. Can the hazardous substance be removed from the workplace? If elimination is not possible consider (in this order): - Substitution: Whether the substance could be replaced by one posing less risk, such as substituting solvent based inks with inks made from vegetable oil. - Isolation: Isolating the hazard can prevent people coming into contact with it, for example spray painting in a fully automated booth. - Engineering control measures: Apply physical control measures to minimise risk, such as ventilation. - Administrative controls: If engineering controls are not sufficient to remove the risk, you are required to apply processes to make your workplace safer, e.g. job rotation to reduce the time someone is exposed to a hazardous substance. - Personal protective equipment (PPE): If the risk remains after all other measures have been applied, you must supply and ensure the use of personal protective equipment. For example, respirators can protect staff from inhaling hazardous substances. In managing risks a business should take the following into account: - The amount of the hazardous substance in the workplace - Any related physico-chemical hazards (eg explosions, fire, corrosion) - Possible reactions with other substances - Ignition sources - Structures, plant or systems of work involved - The risk and degree of exposure to the substance by those carrying out the work involved - Any prescribed exposure standards - The length of time after use that entry is restricted Also consider the knowledge and experience of the workers exposed to the hazardous substances. Safety data sheets are a key source of information about the requirements for each hazardous substance in your workplace. Safety data sheets are mandatory under the Hazardous Substances Regulations. After preparing your inventory, you can enter the substances into the hazardous substances calculator(external link) to find the key controls you must apply across all the hazardous substances in your workplace. You need to review and revise your risk management requirements at least every five years, or after: - a significant change to a hazardous substance’s safety data sheet, or to the information about it in your inventory - any notifiable event in the workplace involving a relevant hazardous substance You must also provide training and instruction to staff to make sure they can work safely with and around the hazardous substances. Find out more See our quick guide: For additional guidance:
Naturalism is a literary movement that arose in the late-ninteenth century and was prominent throughout the 20th century. Naturalism depicts people in their base, physiologically dependent states. These stories heavily suggest Darwinian ideals. Published in the mid-nineteenth century, the novellas Benito Cereno and The Heroic Slave, written by Herman Melville and Frederick Douglass respectively, arguably featured thematic that can be described as naturalist. Their depictions of race, slavery, and purpose in life seem to follow naturalist ideals, however different they are from one another. Benito Cereno suggests conflict rather than outright narrating it. It isn’t clear to the reader that black rebellion has taken place, but Delano’s rhetoric shows that he is untrustworthy of his peers. We soon come to learn that the ship is under the influence of the black slaves, and that a number of white sailors were killed by them. To comment on the flu outbreak, the narrative states that more of the white sailors died from it than the slaves. This indicates that the black’s willpower to prevail under harsh circumstances is stronger than white mens’. Returning to the naturalist theme of this analysis, Melville continuously alludes to the idea of people being “born” to specific modes of living. “Most negroes are natural valet and hair-dressers” (Melville 212). And again, he generalizes race here, too: “But as a nation–continued he in his reveries–these Spaniards are all an odd set; the very word Spaniard has a curious, Guy-Fawkish twang to it” (206). Melville explicitly comments on naturalism in this final quote: “The whites , too, by nature, were the shrewder race” (201). Melville’s depiction of slave rebellion lies more in sub-text. He reinvents the white-black power dynamic by exploring naturalist themes, and in a way, shows the men as irrational-thinking animals by doing so. The Heroic Slave is much more upfront about its themes than Melville is with his story. Within the first few pages, we come to see that Washington views black slaves as less than animals. “Those birds, perched on the swinging boughs… They live free, though they may die slaves… I am a slave–, born a slave… But here am I, a man–yes, a man!–with thoughts and wishes, with powers and faculties as far as angel’s flight above that hated reptile–yet he is my superior… I am galled with irons; yet even these are more tolerable than the consciousness” (Douglass, 5-6). Washington expresses than men are slaves to each other and to themselves. Consciousness is a prison in itself. His slavery is all the more suffering because he is aware that he is one. Douglass shows that slavery is unique among of humans in the animal kingdom, because we have a word for it. Humans have concepts of freedom and liberty, power and happiness. This is absent in the animal kingdom; wild animals are only slaves to their physiology, yet to them that is just life. Circumstances are much more important to humans than they are to animals. To Douglass, there is a certain humility and embarrassment to being a slave, because it appears to unnatural, and therefore irrational. Melville and Douglass commentate on naturalism in there own unique ways. Their works are perhaps pre-cursors to the naturalism literary movement.
For the first time, the presence of large bodied herbivorous dinosaurs in Antarctica has been recorded. Until now, remains of sauropoda - one of the most diverse and geographically widespread species of herbivorous dinosaurs - had been recovered from all continental landmasses, except Antarctica. Dr. Ignacio Alejandro Cerda, from CONICET in Argentina, and his team's identification of the remains of the sauropod dinosaur suggests that advanced titanosaurs (plant-eating, sauropod dinosaurs) achieved a global distribution at least by the Late Cretaceous*. Their work has just been published online in Springer's journal, Naturwissenschaften The Science of Nature. Sauropoda is the second most diverse group of dinosaurs, with more than 150 recognized species. It includes the largest terrestrial vertebrates that ever existed. Although many sauropod remains have been discovered in North and South America, Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe, there is no previous record of sauropoda in Antarctica. Other important dinosaur discoveries have been made in Antarctica in the last two decades - principally in the James Ross Basin. Dr. Cerda and colleagues report the first finding of a sauropod dinosaur from this continent and provide a detailed description of an incomplete middle-tail vertebra, recovered from James Ross Island. The specific size and morphology of the specimen, including its distinctive ball and socket articulations, lead the authors to identify it as an advanced titanosaur. These titanosaurs originated during the Early Cretaceous and were the predominant group of sauropod dinosaurs until the extinction of all non-bird dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous. Although they were one of the most widespread and successful species of sauropod dinosaurs, their origin and dispersion are not completely understood. The authors conclude: "Our discovery, and subsequent report, of these sauropod dinosaur remains from Antarctica improves our current knowledge of the dinosaurian faunas during the Late Cretaceous on this continent." \|Contact: Joan Robinson\|
Understanding the specific causal effects of population decline and animal health in tortoise populations has been difficult, as tortoises are simultaneously exposed to a wide variety of these environmental stressors and seldom display clinical signs of physiological perturbations. Current health and disease screening methods often inadequately diagnose the clinical and physiological health conditions of wild tortoises, making it difficult to identify specific environmental conditions linked to declining animal health. This multifaceted project is designed to 1) expand our understanding of how reptile species such as the desert tortoise respond physiologically to environmental perturbations, 2) incorporate innovative molecular diagnostics to advance our knowledge of wildlife health and disease, and 3) identify specific environmental factors that are needed to improve habitat conditions and overall health for the threatened desert tortoise. For more information: - Drake et al. 2017. Coupling gene-based and classic veterinary diagnostics improves interpretation of health and immune function in the Agassiz’s desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) - Drake et al. 2016. Negative impacts of invasive plants on conservation of sensitive desert wildlife - Hinderle et al. 2014. The effects of homing and movement behaviors on translocation: desert tortoises in the Western Mojave Desert
A layer of hot rocks that sits two miles underneath the city has been shown to heat water to up to 105°C. One theory about why the rocks are hot includes speculation that there was an active volcano at the location 350 million years ago. The city council now plans to build an 11 km pipe network to bring the heat to public buildings and eventually to households, with the help of a £19.75 million government grant. According to documentation on a proposed ‘City Deal’ with the government, the system could produce up to 45 GWh per year. Under the business plan, £28.25 million in funding is expected to come from the private sector and £3.4 million from the city council. The council will build the pipe network, while private firms will construct the plant and market the heat. The council is set to present the business plan to the government in early 2015. The project represents only the second geothermal district heating network in the UK.
Please note that this article mainly talks about the medical value of loquat in traditional Chinese medicine. Most of the data are the experience summary of traditional Chinese medicine and lack of necessary scientific research results. Please do not use the contents of this article as a reference for disease and treatment. Effect and function of loquat Loquat is rich in all kinds of nutrients needed by the human body and is a nutrient-rich health fruit. Mature loquat has sweet taste and abundant nutrition, including fructose, glucose, potassium, phosphorus, iron, calcium, vitamins A, B and C, etc. Its carotene content is the third in all fruits. Traditional Chinese medicine believes loquat has the functions of moistening lung, relieving cough, relieving cough, etc. Loquat leaf is also a kind of traditional Chinese medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine believes loquat is of great benefit to respiratory diseases of human body. 1. flowers of Eriobotrya japonica Flowers of Eriobotrya japonica can be used to treat cough, common cold and other disease symptoms in traditional Chinese medicine. The mixture of 20g flowers of Eriobotrya japonica and honey can be used as a healthy tea drink. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that this tea can treat respiratory discomfort caused by common cold. 2. the Eriobotrya Japonia nut Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the Eriobotrya Japonia nut can treat cough, hernia, edema and other symptoms. Take 10g of the Eriobotrya Japonia nut, mash and decoct, add appropriate amount of crystal sugar to the juice to treat cough. The Eriobotrya Japonia nut can be used to treat lymphatic tuberculosis by grinding appropriate amount of powder and mixing with wine for external application. 3. Loquat peel Loquat skin is also called loquat wood white skin. Traditional Chinese medicine believes loquat skin can be used as a medicine for vomiting. 4. root of loquat Traditional Chinese medicine believes that loquat root can be used as a traditional Chinese medicine for treating joint pain and pulmonary tuberculosis. Efficacy and function of Loquat The nutritive value of Loquat is abundant, there are various kinds of fructose, glucose, potassium, phosphorus, iron, calcium, vitamin A, B, C and so on, among which carotene content is the third in each fruit. Loquat-Shaped Cake can effectively supplement the body nutritional components, improve the disease resistance of the body, and play the role of physical fitness. Chinese medicine thinks loquat fruit has the function and effect of moistening lung, relieving cough and relieving thirst. The effect and function of loquat leaf. Apart from loquat fruits, loquat leaves and the Eriobotrya Japonia nut are also commonly used Chinese medicinal materials. According to the Chinese traditional medical document Compendium of Materia Medica, loquat leaves have good effects on nausea, respiratory discomfort, thirst and dryness. Loquat seeds and new leaves are slightly toxic. If you eat them raw, pipa seeds will release trace amounts of cyanide, but the general amount is not enough to cause harm to human body. Piba leaves have the effect of inhibiting influenza virus. Chinese traditional medicine believes that loquat leaves can be made into herbal soup (boiled soup) to prevent influenza. Removing villi on the back of fresh loquat leaves, cutting into fine pieces, and decocting into soup can also be used for treating pulmonary phlegm and hemoptysis. However, this is a summary of the experience of traditional Chinese medicine and there is no scientific experiment to prove it. The applicable people of loquat. The general population can eat loquat, pregnant women, babies and nursing mothers can eat loquat. Pregnant women can improve the symptoms of nausea and vomiting by eating loquat in early pregnancy. Eriobotrya japonica is rich in nutrition. Eriobotrya japonica can stimulate Digestive Gland secretion, promote Appetite and help digestion and absorption, which is very helpful for bad babies in Appetite. Moreover, loquat fruits and leaves can also resist influenza virus, so eating loquat can prevent influenza. However, attention should be paid not to eat immature loquat, which may cause slight poisoning. At any time, you should eat a proper amount of loquat. If symptoms such as allergy occur after eating loquat, consult a doctor immediately. Can pregnant women eat loquat? Can pregnant women eat loquat? The answer is yes. Loquat besides high in vitamin C and B vitamins, also contains carbohydrates, protein, fat, cellulose, tartaric acid, malic acid, citric acid, etc., which contains beta-carotene for fresh fruit in the highest, the carotenoids can be converted into vitamin A in the body, is the source of vitamin A security. In addition, loquat has good medicinal value, such as relieving cough and vomiting. Eating loquat in early pregnancy can improve the symptoms of nausea and vomiting. Loquat fruits and leaves can resist influenza virus, so pregnant women can prevent influenza by eating loquat. Can the baby eat loquat? Babies can eat loquat. Babies over one year old can eat a moderate amount of loquat, but start with a small amount and observe whether there is any allergy. If your baby has cough, you can make loquat into diluted juice for your baby to drink. Loquat is rich in various nutrient elements needed by human body and is a nutritious health fruit. Loquat is rich in cellulose, pectin, carotene, malic acid, citric acid, potassium, phosphorus, iron, calcium and vitamins A, B and C. Rich in vitamin B and carotene, it has the functions of protecting eyesight, keeping skin healthy and moist, and promoting baby’s physical development. Loquat can stimulate Digestive Gland secretion, promote Appetite, help digestion and absorption, quench thirst and relieve summer heat. It can also prevent cancer and aging. The amount of loquat babies eat should be strictly controlled, and you should strictly observe whether there are allergic symptoms. Can you eat loquat in lactation? Loquat can be eaten during lactation. Traditional Chinese medicine holds that pipa is beneficial to relieve vomiting, nausea, cough and other symptoms during lactation. Modern medicine has even proved that loquat fruits are rich in vitamins, amygdalin, resveratrol and other anti-cancer substances, which are beneficial to nursing mothers. Lactating mothers had better not eat loquat leaves and other traditional Chinese medicines, the chemicals of which have not been studied, which may be harmful to your baby. Eat the notes of loquat. The outer skin of loquat fruit has a layer of fuzz, so it is better to eat after skin. The following should be noted when eating loquat: 1. Go to the pediment and skin of loquat: the pediment of loquat is the one with the head, the skin of mature loquat is easy to go, just rip it off. 2. Tail: the tail is more troublesome. After the skin is removed, two fingers are used to pull upward, then the whole tail is taken off. Because the tail also has fluff and some dirt, must dispel. With loquat, with the food. 1. Liquor + loquat: it is easy to convert the carotenoid in loquat into oxidizing substance and attack normal cells, which is not conducive to health. 2. Milk + loquat: the combination of the protein in milk and the malic acid in loquat will produce organic acid. If the organic acid reaches a certain content, the milk will be changed and precipitated. 3. Wheat + loquat: wheat, spleen, dysentery, kidney and sweat, and quenching thirst, but with loquat and the same food. Match the food with loquat. Pomegranate + loquat: both contain malic acid and citric acid, which helps to increase appetite, help digestion, and increase stamina and endurance. 2. Honey + loquat: the effective substance in loquat can suppress the influenza virus. If it is accompanied by honey with the efficacy of phlegm and relieving cough, liver and other functions, it can moisten the throat and relieve the cough. 3. Ginseng + loquat: loquat has a good curative effect on lung and stomach diseases. If ginseng, ginger and clove are used, it can be used to treat nausea and vomiting. How to choose loquat? Every listed on loquat season, how to choose the delicious fresh loquat is a lot of knowledge, to eat the proper loquat is beneficial to health, follow the steps below to allow you to pick the delicious fresh loquat oh! 1, first of all, to pick loquat (complete, fruit are well-preserved, loquat leaf surface usually with a layer of fuzz and shallow fruit powder, well-preserved elucidation didn’t by any damage in transit, is fresh, the content of vitamin C and other nutrients. 2. It is suggested to choose medium sized loquat fruit with better taste. Too large loquat may use an expanded agent, too small loquat show that the fruit on the same tree is more, the nutrition will be less. 3. The darker the loquat, the better the maturity, the sweeter the taste, and the rich flavor; However, the loquat, which is pale yellow, green, hard and not easy to peel, is immature or immature loquat. There are two kinds of loquat, one is red meat loquat, one is white meat loquat. Characteristics of white meat loquat: Pulp white to light yellow, not orange. The fruit of almost all white meat batches is thin and easy to peel, the meat is delicate, soft and easy to melt, the juice is sweet and refreshing, the quality is excellent, and it is suitable for fresh food. The skin is thin, not resistant to storage, not suitable for processing, easy to eat. For example: white pear (a kind of white meat loquat), maturity stage in late April. Characteristics of red meat loquat: Red meat loquat fruit small to medium, the pulp is yellow, orange or orange red, the meat is thicker, the taste is thicker. The skin is thick and resistant to storage. If the loquat is placed in the refrigerator, it will become black due to excessive water vapour, usually stored in a dry and ventilated place. Loquat, because of its polyphenols, is easy to Browning and discoloration after peeling. It can be soaked in cold water, sugar water or salt water, and can prevent discoloration.
Sunflower Seeds: All You Ever Want to Know: Plant, Harvest, Cook How To Plant Sunflower Seeds Sunflowers are fairly easy to grow. In order to optimize the best height and growth, early spring is an ideal time to plant their seeds, although it is important to wait until the last frost in order to protect any new seedlings. Perennial sunflowers grow about two feet tall, while annuals can reach as high as eight feet. The maximum height depends a lot on the weather and how well it is cared for - Choose a spot in your garden, where the flowers will get plenty of sun. - They do best with at least six hours of sun. Shade is not important, therefore they can get continual sun without harming them. - They also need lots of water, especially early on in the growing season. - The flowers should be planted at a very specific distance from one another, which depends on what kind of sunflowers are bought. Therefore, read the individual seed packets. - It is ideal to have well-fertilized soil, so composting or fertilizing is a great idea. - Plant the seeds at least two inches into the soil. Having soil well-tilled is important to help roots grow deep. How To Harvest Sunflower SeedsClick thumbnail to view full-size Sunflower Seeds Nutrition Facts \|Serving size: 1 cup\| \|Calories from Fat\|\|684\| \|% Daily Value \| \|Fat 76 g\|\|117%\| \|Saturated fat 8 g\|\|40%\| \|Carbohydrates 28 g\|\|9%\| \|Sugar 0 g\| \|Fiber 15 g\|\|60%\| \|Protein 23 g\|\|46%\| \|Cholesterol 0 mg\| \|Sodium 4 mg\| \| The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.\| - 2 quarts water - 1/4 cup salt - sunflower seeds, unhusked - 1 tsp butter or olive oil - 2 Tbs dry seasoning, of your choice A Husked and Unhusked Sunflower How To Harvest and Flavor Sunflower Seeds - After you harvest sunflower seeds, rinse thoroughly to get rid of dirt and debris. The best way to do this is to put sunflower seeds in a deep pot, then scoop the sunflower seeds out. The sunflowers will rise to the top, debris and dirt will go to the bottom. Also damaged sunflower seeds often will sink as well. - Then, sift through the seeds to rid of any damaged ones. Flat sunflower seeds or ones with holes in them are not good for eating. - Place sunflowers in a large bowl or pot, add water and salt, then let them soak for 1 hour. If you would like a deeper flavor, you may soak them overnight. - Once soaked with salt water, place on a paper towel to dry. - Grease the pan or cookie sheet with oil or butter. - Place the sunflower seeds in a pan. - Bake for 30 minutes at 300 degrees, stirring occasionally to prevent browning. - Once baked, you can place two cups of warm sunflower seeds in a plastic bag with a tsp of olive oil or butter, and coat them with the seasoning of your choice, such as salt, cayenne pepper, garlic. Any flavoring that tastes great on popcorn will taste great on sunflower seeds. Then shake the bag to maximize full coverage of sunflower seeds. - Then let them cool and enjoy! Benefits of Sunflower Seeds - Sunflower seeds are highly beneficial for your heart, your immune system, your bones, and skin. - They contain Vitamin E, which is key in preventing cardiovascular disease and protects our skin from ultraviolet rays. - Vitamin E is also an anti-inflammatory, which means it helps prevent inflammation that asthma, arthritis, or bowel disease causes. - Contains magnesium, which helps calm our nerves and encourages bone growth, and prevents bone loss. - 6 Health Benefits of Sunflower Seeds \| Eat This! Here are six health benefits of sunflower seeds that may make you want to include them in your diet on a regular basis. © 2013 Angela Michelle Schultz
Imagine if products were designed, created and manufactured in a way that maximized their value across their life cycle. At Dow, we’re rethinking the traditional, linear “take-make-dispose” way of doing business to adopt new ways of working that maximize the value and use of our resources. Learn more. We are seeking to optimize the efficiency of our operations to conserve resources, repurpose byproducts from our manufacturing, and reduce material and energy waste. We are working with our value chains to explore regenerative business models and advance recycling technologies and infrastructure. We are collaborating with our customers, brand owners and the value chain to design materials that enable end products to be reusable or recyclable and extend their life cycle. Because of our leadership position in manufacturing and materials technology and as a producer of plastic, we have the opportunity to take a leading role in supporting the development of the circular economy. Find out how we’re working to accelerate a world without waste. Closing the loop and stopping plastic waste Despite plastic’s value to society, only 10% of manufactured plastic is recycled annually, and 8 million tons end up in the ocean. This is unacceptable. Learn how we’re collaborating to keep plastic waste out of the environment and protect the natural resources and ecosystems that communities everywhere depend on.
Chilli (Capsicum annuum) is one of the important vegetable and commercial spice crops grown throughout the tropics and warm temperate regions of the world. Although there is a scope to enhance the productivity of chilli, a number of limiting factors have been attributed for the low productivity, among which, the damage caused by insect pests and mites is of paramount importance. More than 293 insects and mite species attack the crop in field as well as storage. Amongst these, the thrips, Scirtothrips dorsalis and yellow mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus are the most important.Regular menace These have become regular pests of the crop in traditional chilli growing tracts, known for monocropping resulting in the qualitative and quantitative crop loss. The indiscriminate use of insecticides has led to insecticide resistance, pest resurgence, environmental pollution besides upsetting the natural ecosystem. Further the presence of pesticide residues in chillies is a major non tariff barrier against export . Chilli thrips and mites, characterised by relatively short life cycles, can complete several generations on a crop. Adults and nymphs of these pests suck sap from the leaves and growing shoots. Affected leaves curl upwards and downwards resulting in damage called chilli leaf curl or chilli murda complex. As a result of thrips infestation, leaves become smaller, thickened and brittle. Mite infestation is a characterised by elongation of leaf petiole and clustering of tender leaves at the tip of branches.Pest management — Seed treatment with imidacloprid at five grams per kg seed is effective. — Spray with acaricides such as dicofol at five ml per litre or wettable sulphur three grams per litre or diafenthiuron at one gm per litre or Vertemic at 0.5 ml per litre. Utilisation of indigenous materials have confirmed that garlic chilli kerosene extract [GCK at 0.5 per cent] +nimbecidine (2.5 ml/lit) can effectively combat the problem. (Dr. D. N. Kambrekar is Scientist (Agricultural Entomology), Regional Agricultural Research Station, PB.No. 18, Bijapur (UAS, Dharwad), email: email@example.com, Phone: 08352 230568.)
Volunteers wipe away neglect from Washington County cemetery Honoring veterans is commonplace, so Mercedes McCarthy wondered why no one seemed to remember the veterans buried in a little cemetery near the West Virginia border. Graves in the Paris Cemetery are the final resting places for soldiers who fought in U.S. conflicts from the American Revolution to Desert Storm, but like many old burial grounds in Western Pennsylvania, the cemetery in the Washington County town has been neglected. “It just pulled at my heart that veterans' graves are in here, and their burial site was being overrun with weeds,” said McCarthy, a recent transplant to Paris, part of Hanover Township. Caretaker Les Grossmann began mowing the cemetery in 2004 and quit at one point once payments stopped. Now he, McCarthy and other volunteers are working to secure the site's long-term viability by arranging cleanups and seeking money for upkeep. The region is dotted with old cemeteries that have gone to seed as the churches that started them closed, families died off or moved away, new burials dwindled and money for upkeep ran out, said Chuck Edgar, research librarian at the Washington County Historical Society. “Practically wherever you go, there are old cemeteries. Some have funds to keep going, some don't,” Edgar said. If those cemeteries are forgotten and overgrown, fewer people can use them to find connections to their past, he said. And given the region's historic status as a gateway to western expansion and an industrial center, many people from other parts of the country have relatives buried in Western Pennsylvania. “Half the world came this way on its way west,” Edgar said, “so a lot of people come back here all the time” to research their genealogy. Thomas J. Hannon, a retired geography professor at Slippery Rock University, said cemeteries record culture as well as genealogy. Materials used in headstones show the transportation and trade available at the time, he said, and symbols and epitaphs show attitudes toward death. Grave markers took on a gloomy tone in the early days of settlement, but became lighter with more hopeful messages in the 1800s. The Turner Cemetery off Beechwood Boulevard is one of the oldest burial grounds in Allegheny County, said Helen Wilson, vice president of the Squirrel Hill Historical Society, and though members of the neighboring Mary S. Brown Memorial-Ames United Methodist Church mow it, there's no money to restore headstones worn away by the centuries. “Most of the early history of Pittsburgh was wiped away by industry and development. You can count on one hand the number of structures and places like this from the 1700s that still exist,” Wilson said. Old St. Luke's Church in Scott is one such relic, where the Rev. Richard Davies operates the stone church dating to the 1850s and a graveyard dating to the mid-1700s. He gets by, he said, with help from paid landscapers and volunteer researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, plus donations and fees from renting the church for weddings or burying ashes for longtime supporters. “We have no congregation. We just have friends,” Davies said. Davies suggested that friends of the Paris Cemetery work with schools and Scout groups to build interest in the site. “The magnet for people's interest here is the church and our history,” Davies said of St. Luke's. If the Paris volunteers “don't have a magnet except for some tombstones, it will be hard for them to draw interest.” Volunteers in Paris have photographed graves and are compiling histories of their notable inhabitants. Others are digging into boxes of records and deeds in hopes of finding a boundary survey, tax and mineral rights records. Early on, the last living member of the Paris Cemetery Association paid Grossman for his caretaker's chores, he said, and a volunteer helped him with new burials using the cemetery's 1961 backhoe. Once the association member died and the volunteer moved away, Grossmann cared for the cemetery by himself. With just two or three new burials a year, money to maintain the cemetery and fuel equipment ran out. “At 7 1⁄2 acres, it's a lot for just one guy,” Grossmann said. Matthew Santoni is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-380-5625 or email@example.com.
Top best answers to the question «Which country ruled india before independence» British raj, period of direct British rule over the Indian subcontinent from 1858 until the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947. Those who are looking for an answer to the question «Which country ruled india before independence?» often ask the following questions: ⭐️ Which dynasty ruled india before mughals? Most of the Indian subcontinent was conquered by the Maurya Empire during the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE. From the 3rd century BCE onwards Prakrit and Pali literature in the north and the Tamil Sangam literature in southern India started to flourish. ⭐️ Leaving india which country celebrate independence? - Before leaving India, the British divided India into two independent states - Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. Pakistan celebrates its Independence Day on August 14. - Who ruled india before mughals? - Which country did india get its independence from? - Which other country celebrates independence day with india? ⭐️ Why was india not a country before independence? - Secondly - India, pre-independence was not a country in the sense that we understand it today. It was a collection of a large number of princely states. The British, en route to assuming power over the entire Indian subcontinent, used to constantly pit rival princely states against each other and grant favour to those that sided with them. - Before mughal empire who ruled india? - Empires which ruled india? - Which country does not celebrate independence day with india? 1 other answer We've handpicked 24 related questions for you, similar to «Which country ruled india before independence?» so you can surely find the answer!Who ruled india before the british rule? - A small time the Babylonian king ruled India, when Israel was in the hands of Babylon. After raising of Islam the Islamic invaders ruled some parts of India in around 800 AD. Lastly the British ruled and left India at lost . - The two countries gained their freedom together but Pakistan celebrates its Independence Day a day before India on August 14, 1947, as a Muslim dominant nation while India emerged as a secular nation. Muhammad Ali Jinnah emerged as the founder of the Muslim nation Pakistan. - Who ruled India before Mughal Empire? Before Mughals, India was ruled by several kingdoms lead by both Hindu and Muslim Kings. It was in the year 1526, Babur an afghan ruler from Kabul annexed Delhi Sultanate ruled by Lodi Dynasty and established Mughal Empire which gradually spread its wings all across the country. When did Pakistan get its independence from India? - India gained its Independence on August 15, 1947, at 00:00 IST. Thus, when Pakistan got its independence, it was 23:30 at that time in Pakistan. Thus, Pakistan celebrates its Independence Day on August 14, 1947, a day before India's Independence. - The 1947 Indian Independence Act [1947 c. 30 (10 & 11. Geo. 6.)] is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that partitioned British India into the two new independent dominions of India and Pakistan. - Independence Day is celebrated annually on 15 August as a national holiday in India commemorating the nation's independence from the United Kingdom on 15 August 1947, the day when the provisions of the 1947 Indian Independence Act, which transferred legislative sovereignty to the Indian Constituent Assembly , came into effect. - I am delighted that every single village of India now has access to electricity," Modi tweeted. As many as 18,452 villages were without electricity when the BJP-led government came to power in May 2014. Today, all of the country's 5,97,464 census villages have been electrified. Electrified means the village is connected to power grid. - Hence the Pakistanis decided to celebrate their Independence Day a day before the actual date. But otherwise, August 15 is the actual Independence Day for both India and Pakistan (Even South Korea observes its Liberation Day on August 15). No, there was no country called India or there was no sense of a united nation before British rule.How many countries were part of undivided india before independence? - Before Independence of India the following Countries were a part of Undivided India : 1 Pakistan 2 Bangladesh 3 Afghanistan 4 Nepal 5 Burma 6 Bhutan 7 Ceylon 8 Tibet - 1- Pakistan celebrates Independence a day before India as Lord Mountbatten transferred his powers to Pakistan on August 14, 1947, so that Pakistani officials can attend India's Independence program in New Delhi on August 15, 1947. 2- It was the 27th day of Ramadan on August 14, 1947, and is considered a culinary day as per Islamic Calendar. - During the medieval period, various dynasties ruled over India namely; Pallava was a powerful dynasty of Andhra Pradesh in Indian medieval history. - Maurya Dynasty - The Mauryan Empire was the first major empire in the history of India and ruled the land from 322 BC to 185 BC. Important rulers of this dynasty were Chandragupta Maurya, Bindusara, and King Ashoka.Almost all of the subcontinent was conquered by the Mauryan Empire. - A state is classified as “small” if its population is less than 20 million. Of the 12 small states that made it to the list, BJP heads, or is a part of, the government in eight. Goa and Tripura made it to the top five. Who ruled ancient India? - The most famous of the Maurya emperors, in fact the most famous ruler in ancient India’s history and one of the most notable in the entire ancient world, was Ashoka (also spelt Asoka – reigned 272-232 BCE). The Maurya Empire (320-185 B.C.E.) was the first major historical Indian empire, and definitely the largest one created by an Indian dynasty. The empire arose as a consequence of state consolidation in northern India, which led to one state, Magadha, in today's Bihar, dominating the Ganges plain.What was the country of india before partition? - India in 1947, before the partition, included the modern Republic of India, along with the land that became Pakistan and Bangladesh. Indian reunification refers to the potential reunification of India (the Republic of India) with what is now Bangladesh and Pakistan, the latter of which was partitioned from British India in 1947. - The Indian Independence Bill, which carves the independent nations of India and Pakistan out of the former Mogul Empire, comes into force at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947. The long-awaited agreement ended 200 years of British rule and was hailed by Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi as the “noblest act of the British nation.” \|Country Name\|\|Republic of India; Bharat Ganrajya\| \|Government Type\|\|Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic with a Parliamentary system of Government.\| \|Administrative Divisions\|\|28 States and 8 Union Territories.\| - #1: Afghanistan. - #2: Myanmar. - #3: Maldives. - #4: Sri Lanka. - #5: Australia. - #6: Japan. - #7: Singapore. - #8: Thailand. Share of leading source countries for foreign tourist arrivals in India 2020. In 2020, Bangladesh accounted for the largest share of foreign tourist arrivals in India with over 20 percent, followed by the United States and United Kingdom. India had over 500 thousand visitors from Bangladesh that year.Which european country influenced india? Indian influence in the West can be traced with reasonable certainty from the ancient Mediterranean world of Greece and Rome, through the European Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the age of European imperial expansion and decline, to the post-colonial world of the Indian diaspora of modern times.Who are all ruled india? - 2.1 Brihadratha dynasty (c. 1700–682 BCE) - 2.2 Pradyota dynasty (c. 682–544 BCE) - 2.3 Haryanka dynasty (c. 544–413 BCE) - 2.4 Shishunaga dynasty (c. 413–345 BCE) - 2.5 Nanda Empire (c. 345–322 BCE) - 2.6 Maurya Empire (c. 322–185 BCE) - 2.7 Shunga Empire (c. 185–73 BCE) - 2.8 Kanva dynasty (c. 73–26 BCE) The Maurya Empire (320-185 B.C.E.) was the first major historical Indian empire, and definitely the largest one created by an Indian dynasty. The empire arose as a consequence of state consolidation in northern India, which led to one state, Magadha, in today's Bihar, dominating the Ganges plain.
Learn HDFS commands, Hadoop, Spark SQL, SQL Queries, ETL & Data Analysis\| Spark Hadoop Cluster VM \| Fully Solved Qs Apache Spark is currently one of the most popular systems for processing big data. Apache Hadoop continues to be used by many organizations that look to store data locally on premises. Hadoop allows these organisations to efficiently store big datasets ranging in size from gigabytes to petabytes. As the number of vacancies for data science, big data analysis and data engineering roles continue to grow, so too will the demand for individuals that possess knowledge of Spark and Hadoop technologies to fill these vacancies. This course has been designed specifically for data scientists, big data analysts and data engineers looking to leverage the power of Hadoop and Apache Spark to make sense of big data. This course will help those individuals that are looking to interactively analyse big data or to begin writing production applications to prepare data for further analysis using Spark SQL in a Hadoop environment. The course is also well suited for university students and recent graduates that are keen to gain exposure to Spark & Hadoop or anyone who simply wants to apply their SQL skills in a big data environment using Spark-SQL. This course has been designed to be concise and to provide students with a necessary and sufficient amount of theory, enough for them to be able to use Hadoop & Spark without getting bogged down in too much theory about older low-level APIs such as RDDs. On solving the questions contained in this course students will begin to develop those skills & the confidence needed to handle real world scenarios that come their way in a production environment. (a) There are just under 30 problems in this course. These cover hdfs commands, basic data engineering tasks and data analysis. (b) Fully worked out solutions to all the problems. (c) Also included is the Verulam Blue virtual machine which is an environment that has a spark Hadoop cluster already installed so that you can practice working on the problems. - The VM contains a Spark Hadoop environment which allows students to read and write data to & from the Hadoop file system as well as to store metastore tables on the Hive metastore. - All the datasets students will need for the problems are already loaded onto HDFS, so there is no need for students to do any extra work. - The VM also has Apache Zeppelin installed. This is a notebook specific to Spark and is similar to Python’s Jupyter notebook. This course will allow students to get hands-on experience working in a Spark Hadoop environment as they practice: - Converting a set of data values in a given format stored in HDFS into new data values or a new data format and writing them into HDFS. - Loading data from HDFS for use in Spark applications & writing the results back into HDFS using Spark. - Reading and writing files in a variety of file formats. - Performing standard extract, transform, load (ETL) processes on data using the Spark API. - Using metastore tables as an input source or an output sink for Spark applications. - Applying the understanding of the fundamentals of querying datasets in Spark. - Filtering data using Spark. - Writing queries that calculate aggregate statistics. - Joining disparate datasets using Spark. - Producing ranked or sorted data. Who this course is for: - This course has been designed specifically for data scientists, big data analysts and data engineers looking to leverage the power of Hadoop and Apache Spark to make sense of big data. - This course is also well suited for university students and recent graduates that are keen to land a job with a company that’s looking to fill a big data-related positions or anyone who simply wants to apply their SQL skills in a big data environment using Spark-SQL. - Software engineers & developers who are looking to break into the Data Engineering field will also find this course helpful. Also learn: Python course
Chinese health officials are warning that the death toll from the H7N9 bird flu is likely to rise in the weeks and months ahead. In a report on the outbreak that began in China in February, doctors and researchers from several public health agencies said they suspected that most of the 82 people with confirmed cases of bird flu contracted the H7N9 virus from healthy-looking animals. "To date, the mortality rate is 21 percent, but since many ... patients with confirmed H7N9 virus infection remain critically ill, we suspect that the mortality may increase," they wrote in their study, published online Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine. "Since this H7N9 virus appears to have emerged recently to infect humans, population immunity is expected to be low, and persons of any age may be susceptible to infection." The report paints a fuller picture of the outbreak, which has caused Chinese people to become so panicked that one motorist felt the need to flag down police after a bird dropping landed on her car. Cases of H7N9 infection have been confirmed in six provinces. The statistics paint a picture of the typical bird flu victim as an older urban male. Chinese health officials tested 664 pneumonia patients who were sick enough to be hospitalized between March 25 and April 17. Of these patients, 81, or 12 percent, tested positive for H7N9 infection. In addition, 5,551 unhospitalized people with flu-like symptoms were tested, and one of them was confirmed to have H7N9. The 82 confirmed patients ranged in age from 2 to 89 years old, but most were at the higher end of that range and 46 percent were at least 65. The report said that 73 percent of patients were men and 84 percent lived in urban areas. Among the 17 people confirmed to have the virus who died, the median time from onset of illness to death was 11 days. Their deaths were attributed to acute respiratory distress syndrome or multi-organ failure. Sixty other patients confirmed to have the H7N9 virus remain critically ill, according to the report. Until scientists are able to figure out exactly how the virus spreads from animals to humans, health officials should consider measures such as closing live poultry markets and culling the birds, the health officials wrote.
A chordal Graph is a connected graph which contains no chord-less cycle of size greater than three. They are also called as Triangulated graphs. All Paths are Chordal Graphs (No cycles). All Trees are chordal Graphs (No cycles). All cliques are chordal graphs. A Path contains the minimum no of edges and a clique contains the maximum number of edges of a given n vertices chordal graph So for a fixed number 'n', what is the algorithm to find all the possible chordal graphs of n vertices? - n= 2, Answer = 1 chordal graph. - n= 3, Answer = 2 chordal graphs, - n= 4, Answer = 5 chordal graphs, - n= 5, Answer = 15 chordal graphs. The above are determined by drawing all possible examples. Any algorithm?
It’s a kind of holy grail for physicists: a test for one of the discipline’s most elusive and most difficult to understand theories. For nearly half a century, physicists all over the world have been searching for ways to verify the theory. Towson University scientists have taken what may be a significant step in that search. “Scientists have joked about how string theory is promising…and always will be promising, for lack of being able to test it,” says James Overduin, professor in Towson’s Department of Physics, Astronomy and Geosciences and lead author on a paper about the test TU scientists are developing. The team includes TU students Jack Mitcham and Zoey Warecki. The paper was presented at the American Astronomical Society in Washington, D.C., Monday. String theory posits an explanation for the connection between all the forces in the universe. If it sounds overly broad, it is; string theory is nicknamed “the theory of everything.” Scientific theories need tests in order to be truly valid, and string theory hasn’t been testable because its effects involve sizes that are too small and energies that are too big. “What we have identified is a straightforward method to detect cracks in general relativity that could be explained by string theory, with almost no strings attached,” Overduin explains. For most people, the understanding of string theory goes about as far as CBS’s “The Big Bang Theory” can convey it. The very basic explanation of the complex concept is that all matter and energy in the universe is made of one-dimensional strings, a quintillion times smaller than the extremely tiny hydrogen atom. That means the strings are too small to detect indirectly, and finding signs of them in an instrument like a particle accelerator would require millions of times more energy than what was used to uncover, for example, the Higgs boson—a particle pivotal to the explanation and further proof of particle theory. The Higgs boson was posited in the 1960s, around the same time as string theory’s introduction; the boson’s identification was announced in 2012. The TU team’s string theory test borrows from Galileo and Newton. History holds that Galileo tested rates of acceleration by simultaneously dropping balls with different masses off the Tower of Pisa to demonstrate that, despite the weight difference, they would hit the ground at the same time. Newton later found that Jupiter and its moons, in their orbits, “fall” at the same rate of acceleration toward the sun. Much later, Einstein developed the theory of relativity when he recognized that gravity produces the same acceleration in all objects, regardless of their mass or composition. Overduin and his team use those understandings for their test because string theory posits violations of Einstein’s relativity. It asserts that there are other fields that couple with objects differently, depending on the objects’ composition. That makes them accelerate differently—even within the same gravitational field. But why does it matter? According to Overduin, the answer is nothing short of revolution. “Every time physicists have succeeded in unifying two different branches of physics, society has been transformed,” Overduin says. The Scientific Revolution was born of Newton’s unification of physics and astronomy. The Industrial Revolution—steam engines leading to train and boat transportation—began after physicists unified mechanics and heat. Electrification came when James Clerk Maxwell unified electricity and magnetism. Einstein’s relativity ushered in the Atomic Age, and then the Information Age, when relativity was unified with quantum mechanics. That leaves two parts of physics still unconnected: gravitation and everything else. Physicists believe unifying them, as a test of string theory could do, would spark yet another revolution. Towson University scientists might have something to do with that. “Expanded Solar-System Limits on Violations of the Equivalence Principle” (Overduin, et al)
How does caffeine get into our water? It turns out that our bodies don’t absorb all the caffeine we consume. Some gets expelled in our urine and ends up entering sewage systems or the environment, posing a threat to wildlife and perhaps to our health. Sewage treatment plants usually do a good job removing caffeine, and the treated wastewater they release back to the environment is generally free of it. But in a number of recent studies, caffeine has been detected in water sampled from remote streams – far from urban areas and sewer systems. This suggests our appetite for caffeine has crossed some unseen threshold, and is beginning to impact the environment. All Caffeine Comes into the Environment Through Humans Literally, through us. There are no natural sources of caffeine in North America. So any caffeine found in water samples surely came from humans, whether in beverages, food or pharmaceuticals. That’s one result of a study recently conducted by the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board. “When we started getting results, we realized it’s way more prevalent than just from leaky sewer lines and septic systems,” said Carey Nagoda, a water resource control engineer for the water board. “So that was kind of a puzzle.” Nagoda analyzed nearly 100 water samples over a seven-year period from throughout San Diego County and part of Orange County. They came from a range of sites encompassing raw sewage and treated wastewater in urban areas, as well as streams in remote open-space areas where there is no human development. The results of the study showed that samples from urban areas tested positive for caffeine, which was not surprising. Samples from untreated (raw) sewage contained between 0.052 and 8.5 micrograms per liter, while those taken near active septic systems ranged from 0.029 to 1.19 micrograms per liter. What was surprising was that more than one-third of the samples from open-space areas tested positive for caffeine. The samples from these areas ranged from 0.032 to 0.662 micrograms per liter, or similar to those samples taken near septic systems. The areas known for high recreational use – like fishing, horseback riding, hiking, camping – were the ones that had high caffeine levels, suggesting that visitors in these areas may not be practicing good habits, whether by urinating too close to streams or leaving waste behind. The results also suggest that other contaminants found in human waste, such as pharmaceuticals and pathogens, could be polluting these areas. Numerous studies have shown that caffeine is toxic to a variety of wildlife at high concentrations. The effects are less clear in cases of continual exposure at low levels because little research has been done in this area. So far, clear toxic thresholds have yet to be firmly established. To cite an example, one study showed that mussels exposed to caffeine may face a risk of genetic mutation. Other research at UC Irvine found that caffeine in seawater may contribute to coral bleaching. Studying caffeine contamination is complicated. Researchers learned, for example that caffeine is easily aerosolized, so a Starbucks in the neighborhood can skew test results. Currently, there are no water-quality standards established for caffeine in wastewater effluent. At present, the best defense against caffeine in our water depends on the habits of individuals. It matters where you urinate. One expert advises: “… don’t dump leftover caffeine beverages or containers where they could enter streams or storm drains. And when enjoying the outdoors, exercise proper bathroom practices. That means using a designated restroom or outhouse whenever available. If that’s not possible, choose a proper site at least 200 feet from any waterway. Residents should do their part to help reduce caffeine release to the environment . . . .The cumulative effect on ecosystem health is not known at this time.” Removing caffeine from water in the home? While caffeine at levels that might be in tap water is not considered a contaminant of concern for human health, filtration through standard activated carbon filters should reduce it significantly. There is currently no plan to regulate levels of caffeine in tap water.
NEWPORT BEACH – On the docks at the Back Bay Science Center, volunteers and scientists sift seagrass strands through muddy buckets, working together to prepare the marine plant for its new home: the seafloor of the Back Bay. Called eelgrass, the thin, long-bladed vegetation serves as a nursery ground for fish, forage territory for birds and home to multiple aquatic snails, sponges and crabs. This week, Orange County Coastkeeper marine restoration coordinator Amanda Bird worked with volunteers and other scientists to relocate more than 400 square meters of the ribbonlike plant from Newport Harbor's Lower Bay to the Back Bay, where the seagrass has historically struggled to survive. But thanks to their efforts – and perhaps improved water quality – early signs point to the plant taking a hold in the Back Bay and growing in number. Funded by a $156,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the California Coastal Conservancy, the Coastkeeper's eelgrass restoration program aims to bring the plant species, which flourishes in the lower portion of the bay, north of the Pacific Coast Highway Bridge. The main deterrent, Bird said, is the water quality disparity between the upper and lower bays. "In the Lower Bay, where eelgrass does well, the water flushes in and out of the harbor much more frequently, and up here, it can take up to 14 days for the water to renew itself," she said. But stricter regulations on runoff allowances from upstream sources and the Army Corps of Engineers' habitat restoration efforts that coincided with the dredging of nearly 2 million cubic yards of sediment seem to have resulted in quicker tidal flushing and improved water quality in the Back Bay. Divers spent three days near Newport Harbor's Linda Isle, removing thousands of eelgrass shoots and loading them into buckets that were transported to the Back Bay Science Center's dock. There, volunteers bundled groups of the grass together on biodegradable anchors that were taken by divers to be planted. The new location for the eelgrass is just north of the De Anza peninsula, adjacent to the Bayside Village Marina. "That's the historical range of eelgrass that we are aware of," Bird said. "We're going to experiment this year, and see if we can get some success further north." Last year, the team planted 200 square meters of eelgrass in a similar location, which has now nearly tripled in size. The planting was done using three different methods: using seed bags, the bundling method used this year, and anchoring shoots in frames on the bottom. "All three methods worked so well, we can't even tell which one worked best," Bird said. The program is done in coordination with Coastal Resources Management scientist Rick Ware, who has mapped the entire population of eelgrass in the lower and upper Newport Bay for the city since 2003. According to his latest numbers, eelgrass in the Upper Bay has increased from about a tenth of an acre prior to the restoration effort, to approximately 2 acres now. "In the Upper Bay, we're seeing significant growth naturally between 2012 and 2013 in the areas we have planted," Ware said. This year's study showed an increase in the Lower Bay's eelgrass populations as well, totaling around 19 acres. That is still below the original survey number Ware reported in 2003. "We're working our way back to those numbers," Ware said. Coastal Resource Management's eelgrass maps are used annually to document the health of eelgrass in the bay. As a federally protected species, eelgrass is recognized by the National Marine Fisheries Service as an essential fish habitat. Newport Beach city officials are currently working on implementing a plan that would promote the growth of eelgrass while allowing homeowners to dredge under their docks, which often leads to loss of eelgrass habitat. "Having these volunteers is key because we need the manpower to move all of these eelgrass around, and it also is a chance to educate people on why eelgrass is important, why we need it in the bay and how we balance protecting this resource with uses of the bay for motorized vehicles and dredging," Bird said. Contact the writer: 714-796-2468 or email@example.com
Orestes and democracy This chapter proposes a developmental sequence for the individual. It begins in infancy with the state of extreme helplessness that tyrannizes parents and family, with an ensuing attempt to master that internal helplessness through games such as Freud’s fort-da observations. The chapter discusses the sociologist Anthony Giddens who envisaged a family model of democracy, arguing that the best model of democracy might resemble the best democratic family. It shows how a democratic polity can be enraptured by a family in power; for instance, in the USA the Kennedy and Bush families, the Gandhis in India, even the Hussein family in Iraq. The chapter looks at the family system as the initial template for the child’s experience and education in democracy, though experience and outcome of this process will diverge according to the kind of family one emerges from. It contends that sibling relations are not independent factors; they exert their influence in the context of the overarching parental relations.
Researchers have identified a group of genes that are involved in the development of the sense of smell and onset of puberty in mice. Published in Development, these findings could improve our understanding of puberty and the signs and symptoms of Kallmann syndrome (KS). What is Kallmann syndrome? KS is an inherited genetic disorder, characterized by the delay or complete absence of pubertal onset, leading to underdeveloped genitalia, depleted sex drive and lack of the growth spurt commonly associated with puberty. This is thought to be caused by the absence or misplacement of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons.1 However, there is one particular feature of KS that makes it unique amongst other reproductive conditions – patients with KS have no sense of smell. But how does this link to the onset of puberty? In the new study, researchers identified two genes, PLXNA1 and PLXNA3, that were expressed in the neurons that extend from the nose into the brain of developing mice.2 "By studying the mouse as a model organism, we have identified a pair of genes that can cause an inherited condition with symptoms similar to human KS. This is an important finding, because the nerves that convey our sense of smell and that guide the puberty-inducing nerve cells arise in a very similar way during the development of mice and humans whilst they are still in the womb," explained Professor Christiana Ruhrberg, leader of the UK team. The neurons Rurhberg refers to not only transmit signals necessary for sense of smell, but also guide hormone-secreting neurons, such as those secreting GnRH, from their nasal origin to the hypothalamus. From here, the hypothalamic-pituitary axis regulates the onset of puberty under normal physiological conditions. When the researchers knocked out the genes PLXNA1 and PLXNA3 in mice, they found that both types of neuron were affected. The areas responsible for processing smells were abnormal, and the GnRH-secreting neurons were absent. Both are features seen in patients with KS. A new genetic test on the horizon? With further research, the link between PLXNA1 and PLXNA3 and the symptoms of KS could form the basis of a diagnostic genetic test. "Although KS can be treated with hormone injections if diagnosed early, knowing the underlying genetic causes can make a huge difference to speed up diagnosis and give treatment to the right patients at an earlier time," concludes Professor Anna Cariboni, lead author of the study. 1. Dodé and Hardelin. (2009) Kallmann syndrome. European Journal of Human Genetics. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ejhg.2008.206 2. Oleari et al. (2019) PLXNA1 and PLXNA3 cooperate to pattern the nasal axons that guide gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons. Development. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.176461
Solar much more than panels slapped on a rooftop BIPV isn’t added after the fact like rooftop panels. From the start solar cells are embedded into a building’s envelope, be it roof shingles, skylights, windows or siding. \|Report an Error\| Share via Email If you have a chance to visit the Enwave Theatre at Harbourfront Centre this summer, be sure to check out striking new work by local glass artist Sarah Hall. Hall is the creator of Waterglass, part of a new water-inspired envelope constructed around the theatre that combines air-brushed art and solar cells with insulating glass, which wraps bright waves of blue around the building’s north, east and west façades. Only the west façade includes the solar cells – 540 cells on 10 panels, in total – but it’s a first for Toronto, and an example of the potential of what the solar industry calls building-integrated photovoltaics, or BIPV. In Ontario we currently slap solar panels on the ground and existing residential and commercial rooftops. BIPV, on the other hand, isn’t added on after the fact. Right from the start solar cells are embedded into a building’s envelope, be it roof shingles, skylights, windows or siding. Since you have to pay for the shingles or windows or other materials anyway – as well as their installation—the argument is that you can generate clean electricity from those materials by paying a bit of a premium. “Solar moves from being just an energy source to also being a building component,” says Rob McMonagle, a senior advisor in Toronto’s economic development department who specializes in green technology. The problem is that BIPV, while quite visible throughout Europe and growing in popularity in Japan and China, has gained little traction in Canada. This includes Ontario, despite the province’s stature as one of the leading solar markets in North America. The main reason is that the feed-in-tariff (FIT) program designed and administered by the Ontario Power Authority never took the potential of BIPV into account. The generous rates paid out for solar electricity are for projects built on existing infrastructure. There’s nothing in the program that encourages solar technology to be built directly into new infrastructure. But McMonagle, former head of the Canadian Solar Industries Association and a big believer in the potential of BIPV, is more optimistic these days. Energy Minister Chris Bentley, in a letter last month directing the power authority to restart the feed-in-tariff program, also asked the agency to design a sub-category within the program that is geared to solar projects on “unconstructed buildings.” The new category needs to be implemented by the end of this year, and 15 megawatts of capacity on the grid is supposed to be earmarked for such projects in 2013. “This is a big opportunity,” says McMonagle, who along with the Canada Green Building Council and Ontario Sustainable Energy Association had been pushing the power authority to move in this direction. “We’re now trying to engage with them to develop the rules.” The sooner the better. Toronto has more high-rise construction going on than any other city in North America – more than seven times more construction than Chicago. With so much new building infrastructure in the works, it’s a perfect time to consider integrating solar technologies into architectural designs. “We’ve had a lot of interest from the architect and developer communities,” says McMonagle. “They’re all saying give me more information. For them it’s also about where they can get the product locally.” And this is where Ontario, potentially, can shine – and without the need for mandatory local content rules. A good part of the BIPV market is about custom installations that make buildings distinctive. Like the Sarah Hall project, many could be considered art. This requires flexibility on the part of the supply chain. China excels at producing cheap items in high volumes, but when trying to meet unique architectural specifications, the Chinese edge begins to dull. It’s generally true that the more customized a product, the more local it becomes. In this sense, BIPV – as public art, as part of private infrastructure, and as a source of clean energy in a jurisdictions experiencing a feverish pace of construction – is a good fit for Ontario. It deserves to have its own feed-in-tariff rate. “If we can get this right for unconstructed buildings,” says McMonagle, “it has tremendous long-term potential beyond the FIT program.” Indeed, Ontario could do well to tap a global BIPV market expected by one estimate to reach $6 billion by 2016, at which point we’ll see more roofing and window manufacturers integrating solar into their product lines. Tyler Hamilton, author of Mad Like Tesla, writes weekly about green energy and clean technologies. - Updated Gunman kills two N.Y. police officers, then himself, authorities say - NEW It’s time for the GTA to come together, Wynne says - Updated TTC driver allegedly involved in hit-and-run death of 14-year-old girl turns himself in - City and suburbs: 65 years of unity and division - Video N. Korea denies involvement in Sony attack, warns U.S. not to retaliate - NEW Magnotta trial judge ‘not amused’ by phoney Twitter account in his name - Canada must face up to its complicity in torture: Siddiqui - NEW Kennedy library reissues 1961 letter from president to girl worried about Santa
As the flu continues to ramp up there are still many other Doomsday scenarios that are permeating the news this week. If you have a favorite end to the world, chances are you can get a taste of its possibilities if you watch the news. In the United States, we still have concerns over our agriculture, a volcanic mega-eruption and worry over the state of the economy. Perhaps this is no different than any year, but the possibilities are enough to fuel Doomsday Preppers and their planning for how to survive the worst case scenario. In the event of a wide-scale natural disaster, a super virus or even a debilitating an economic-failure, preppers have it handled. Do you? Drought Declared Natural Disaster On January 9th, the USDA declared 597 counties in 14 states as primary disaster areas due to the ongoing drought. About 80 percent of agricultural land experienced drought in 2012, which made the 2012 drought more extensive than any since the 1950s. According to the USDA: - The drought rapidly increased in severity from June to July and persisted into August. As of September 12, over 2,000 U.S. counties had been designated as disaster areas by USDA in 2012, mainly due to drought. - As of August 14, 60 percent of farms are located in areas experiencing drought. - Based on the 2011 value of production, at least 70 percent of both crop production and livestock production is in areas that are experiencing at least moderate drought as of August 14. - Severe or greater drought is impacting 67 percent of cattle production, and about 70-75 percent of corn and soybean production. - More than 80 percent of the acres of major field crops planted in the United States are covered by Federal crop insurance, which can help to mitigate yield or revenue losses for covered farms. While this drought is considered a D2, the second level on a scale that increases in intensity from D1 to D4, is does make many question what will happen in years of extreme drought. Doomsday Preppers have a plan. Have you thought about where you would get food in extreme situations? CDC Declares Flu a Classic Epidemic According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) surveillance of the current outbreak of influenza and resulting pneumonia indicate that the virus is at epidemic level. Last week, 7.3% of all deaths reported through the 122 Cities Mortality Reporting System were due to pneumonia and influenza. This percentage was slightly above the epidemic threshold of 7.2%. The influenza vaccine issued for this flu season is currently showing to be 62% effective again this year’s strain of the virus, making it only moderately effective. Those getting the vaccine still have a four in ten chance of contracting the flu if exposed. However, the experts note that getting the vaccine can still reduce the severity of the illness. Documentarian Suggests Yellowstone Eruption Inevitable How likely is that Yellowstone will have a mega-eruption? One Canadian documentarian feels it is very likely and thinks that Canada should take note. The documentary Supervolcano: Yellowstone’s Fury premiered on the Canadian Broadcast Corporation this January. The film which was directed by Dave Brady, a documentary writer and producer asserts that it is not a matter of ‘if’ the Yellowstone supervolcano will erupt, but ‘when’. Yellowstone Park sits above a supervolcano, the Yellowstone caldera which is a large flat area 55 by 72 km wide in the northwest corner of Wyoming. The geothermal activity under the park gives us the most famous geyser in the world, Old Faithful, but also has menacing possibilities. An eruption at the level the volcano is capable of at its worst could trigger a volcanic winter, choking the continent with ash and killing millions of people. The eruption could make most of North America uninhabitable. Will it happen? Brady’s documentary points to signs that an eruption could be coming and is in fact overdue. While some viewers feel this is alarmist, there are Doomsday Preppers who take the possibility of a volcanic winter very seriously. There is no question that disaster can strike without warning, however, especially on a smaller scale. Do you have your emergency kit ready? High Cost of Natural Disasters According to the CoreLogic® 2012 Natural Hazard Risk Summary and Analysis report, 2011 was a year of record-breaking destruction and overall, 2012 was a year of less damage than the previous one. The report provides a synopsis of the most significant catastrophic natural hazard events as a means to prepare for future events. In some locations, 2012 tornadoes, wildfires, freshwater flooding and hurricane surge still caused record local damage and destruction. The nine million acres that were burned in wildfires was the highest number since 1960. The single-most destructive disaster in the United States during 2012 was hurricane Sandy, which impacted 5 million people and had an economic impact as high as $50 billion dollars. Preparation is the key to recovery in major disaster, but at what point will economic recovery not be feasible? For those who worry about economic collapse, the cost of a year with numerous natural disasters is something to consider. How much disaster can an economy withstand before collapse? Some Doomsday Preppers would argue that a collapse is inevitable. On this week’s Doomsday Preppers: In the Hurt Locker a prepper known as Snake Blocker is convinced a coming economic collapse will result in social chaos. Will Snake Blocker and his crew of preppers weather an economic collapse. Tune in to Doomday Preppers Tuesday 9Pm et/pt and decide for yourself.
We all love our pets; whether it is a cat or a dog. And because they become part of the family and so loved, many people enjoy snuggling up to them whilst watching TV on the sofa; and cuddling them in bed. But a new report that’s been published is warning pet owners that by hugging your four-legged-friends you put yourself at risk of catching icky bugs. The public health journal of the Centers for Disease Control says that sleeping in bed with your animals is dangerous because “pets can bring a wide range of zoonotic pathogens into our environment.” These “zoonotic pathogens” are reportedly infectious agents that can be transmitted between animal and humans. HEALTH WARNING: BUGS Despite the study though, actually getting sick from sharing your bed with your furry companion is extremely rare. However, children and people with a low immune system should be aware of the risks. Bruno Chomel, lead author of the research and professor of zoonoses at University of California Davis, alongside co-author Ben Sun, looked through published literature about cases in which people’s illnesses interconnected with sleeping, kissing or being licked by pets. They found that one man had a dog sleep under the covers with him, who licked his hip replacement wound and the owner got meningitis over-night; as well as a new-born baby who was sickened with meningitis after the pet cat had stolen the baby’s dummy and had been toying with it. Other findings showed one nine-year-old boy slept in bed with a flea-infested cat and got the bubonic plague in 1974 in New Mexico; and a 44-year-old woman developed meningitis and admitted that she was “regularly kissing the dog’s face and feeding it by transferring food mouth to mouth.” The new report is said to affect around 21% of dog owners, who admit to sleeping with their dogs. If you share your bed with your pet, make sure there is plenty of room for the both of you with Made to measure mattresses.
Feline idiopathic hypercalcemia (Proceedings) Calcium in circulation occurs in three forms: calcium bound to proteins (approximately 40%), calcium complexed to various anions such as citrate and phosphate (8%), and ionized calcium (iCa, approximately 52%. The latter is the biologically active form of calcium and clinically-relevant hypercalcemia only exists when the ionized fraction of calcium is elevated. Total calcium (bound + complexed + ionized), which is reported on serum biochemical profiles, is influenced by serum protein concentrations, additional circulating complexes (as occurs in CKD), and acid-base status. Formulas to "correct" for serum protein concentrations have been shown to increase diagnostic discordance in both dogs and cats. In the clinically normal animal serum ionized calcium is typically proportional to the level of total calcium. However in the diseased animal serum ionized calcium is not proportional to total serum calcium and total serum calcium measurement cannot be used to predict serum ionized calcium concentration. Ionized calcium measurements are essential to make a diagnosis of hypercalcemia that is dangerous to the patient. The majority of calcium in the body is stored in the bone (>99%) with less than 1% in the extracellular fluid. Ionized calcium must be tightly regulated as it impacts numerous metabolic functions. Parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcitonin, and activated vitamin D (calcitriol) are the major hormonal regulators of calcium uptake, excretion, and storage. The main role of PTH is to increase serum calcium concentration which is achieved mainly by increasing osteoclast activity and release of calcium from bone. PTH also increased renal reabsorption of calcium and promotes phosphorous excretion. PTH also promotes the hydroxylation of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol to 1,25-hydroxycholecalciferol (calcitriol) and a calcitriol deficiency will increase release of PTH. PTH is stimulated by both decreased iCa and increased phosphorous. Calcitonin is released in response to increased iCa. It inhibits osteoclast activity and increases renal excretion of calcium. Calcitonin has limited biological potency. Vitamin D is obtained from food as cholecalciferol and has little biologic activity. It is hydroxylated first in the liver then in the kidney to 1,25-hydroxycholecalciferol (calcitriol), the most biologically active form. Hydroxylation in the kidney is limited by renal α 1 hydroxylase activity. This enzyme is stimulated by PTH and inhibited by hyperphosphatemia and less so by hypercalcemia. Calcitriol promotes intestinal absorption of calcium and phosphorous and at physiologic levels promotes bone calcification. In excessive amounts calcitriol promotes bone reabsorption. Other factors that impact calcium homeostasis include renal, hepatic, and GI function, adrenocortical hormones, thyroid hormone, serum sodium, phosphate, and magnesium concentrations. Bone contains exchangeable calcium for immediate buffering in addition to major storage capacity. The interplay of these systems is complex and complete understanding of calcium homeostasis is still deficient.Idiopathic Hypercalcemia Idiopathic hypercalcemia describes cats with hypercalcemia for which no underlying cause can be identified. Many causes of have been speculated including dietary factors (dietary acidification and metabolic acidosis, dietary magnesium restriction, hypervitaminosis D, hypervitaminosis A, and others), a genetic susceptibility, aluminum intoxication, hypoadrenocorticism, an abnormality in the calcium sensing receptor (on the parathyroid gland and the renal collecting tubule), a PTH mimetic, a vitamin D mimetic, a promoter of bone resorption, a stimulator of intestinal calcium absorption, etc and future studies are needed. This syndrome emerged in the early 1990's and has become, in the last decade, the most common cause of ionized hypercalcemia in cats in the United States.
This Earth Day learn about how to limit your exposure to toxins Earth Day a chance to think about the contaminants around you and what you can do to minimize your exposure. \|Report an Error\| Share via Email You can find them in the food you eat, the air you breathe and in your home. This Monday is Earth Day. Take a moment learn how to minimize your exposure to contaminants and help the earth. Lead: Linked to delayed development in children, lead has been phased out of use. But there’s still a risk of exposure in older homes, says Linda Campbell, an environmental contaminants expert who teaches at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax. “Children are at most risk from lead exposure, so families living in older houses over 60 years should ensure that paint is sealed and that the water supply does not have elevated lead.” Cleaning products: Exposure to heavy duty household cleaners such as oven or drain cleaners can be dangerous. Health Canada warns against mixing them or removing labels. Campbell recommends choosing more natural cleaners without ammonia or chlorine. Contact with ammonia, for example, can burn your eyes or skin. Mercury: Mercury can impact brain function and the central nervous system. Low amounts can be found in seafood so Health Canada recommends limiting the amount of big ocean fish you consume. Mercury can also be found in fluorescent light bulbs. Mitchell recommends taking them to a designated disposal facility. Cadmium: Some batteries, some types of industrial paint and toys or jewelry from countries with more relaxed regulations contain cadmium, Campbell says. “It is associated with negative impacts on kidney function, bone development and immune system. People should ensure that their products come from reputable sources and that batteries remain sealed.” - Updated Gunman kills two N.Y. police officers, then himself, authorities say - NEW It’s time for the GTA to come together, Wynne says - Updated TTC driver allegedly involved in hit-and-run death of 14-year-old girl turns himself in - City and suburbs: 65 years of unity and division - Video N. Korea denies involvement in Sony attack, warns U.S. not to retaliate - NEW Magnotta trial judge ‘not amused’ by phoney Twitter account in his name - Canada must face up to its complicity in torture: Siddiqui - NEW Kennedy library reissues 1961 letter from president to girl worried about Santa
By TODD McLEISH / ecoRI News contributor When both houses of the General Assembly passed bills declaring North Star Coral as the state’s official coral on June 8, that made Rhode Island the first state to designate a state coral. And while the state of the ocean isn’t known for its corals, advocates say that’s one of the reasons they’ve pushed for the nickname. “People are often surprised to hear that there is a coral that lives off the coast of Rhode Island,” said Koty Sharp, associate professor of biology at Roger Williams University, who proposed the idea of ‘a state coral. “It’s part of our coastal ecosystem and it’s a very charismatic organization. Under a microscope, people are always in awe of its beauty. “If we can show this to more people, especially school children, we can involve them in their local ecosystem and educate them on what’s out there. The more we do, the more we can expect the next generation to take action on conservation and make our environment a top priority. “ Choosing which coral to designate was not difficult. North Star Coral (Astrangia poculata) is the only hard coral found in New England waters. Unlike the familiar large corals that grow in warm water regions like Florida and the Caribbean, this brown or white coral can fit in the palm of the hand and is often mistaken for an anemone, with a fleshy stalk and long tentacles. . “It’s very different from its tropical cousins in a lot of ways,” said Sharp. “That’s what makes him so special. It’s different. It is much more durable, so it can withstand extremely cold winters and very hot summers. The most significant difference, she said, is that northern star coral does not rely on a symbiotic relationship with algae, which tropical corals use to make sugars for survival. Rhode Island coral does not need this partnership to eat. Instead, it uses its tentacles to capture food in seawater. The northern star coral is typically found in water 5 to 30 feet deep, although it has been documented to be over 90 feet deep. Its range extends from Buzzard’s Bay in Massachusetts to the Gulf of Mexico, but it is also found in the Caribbean and off the coasts of South America and West Africa. “It’s pretty abundant here in Rhode Island, much easier to find here in the shallows of our coastline than in Florida,” said Sharp. “We think it’s because this organism evolved to thrive in habitats that have large seasonal fluctuations – cold winters and hot summers. The tropics do not experience this kind of temperature variation. Tropical corals are not very resistant to these kinds of changes. According to Sharp, North Star Coral was first described in the late 1700s from specimens collected off Newport. A retired professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island, Michael Pilson, laid the groundwork for detailed studies of the species in the 1970s and 1980s, and Sharp has been studying its ecology and physiology for 10 years. Due to coral’s resistance to varying temperatures, Sharp calls the northern star coral a model organism for understanding corals and what can be done to help them survive in the face of the climate crisis. She is particularly interested in the microbes that live on the surface of the coral and play a role in its ability to respond to and recover from climate change. “We are studying this to learn more about Astrangia in the Rhode Island ecosystem, but we are also using it to extend the microbiology of tropical corals,” Sharp said. “One thing that has become very clear in recent years is that the microbes that live on the surface of tropical corals are extremely important for their responses to environmental disturbances. It is their first line of defense against microbial pathogens, infections and disease. Just like what we know about the human gut, the structure of the microbiome is of critical importance in regulating the health of the host animal. Sharp’s research has grown in recent years, with more and more scientists interested in studying northern star coral. What started out as a group of 15 scholars has grown to over 120 who meet at Roger Williams University each year. It was at one of these meetings, when scientists discussed how to raise public awareness about North Star coral, that the idea of a state coral was first discussed. The legislation (H5415, S0067) designating the state of Rhode Island coral was sponsored by two Portsmouth lawmakers, Representative Terri Cortvriend and Senator James Seveney, who introduced it to draw attention to Sharp’s research at Roger University Williams. “Species like the northern star coral can be an indicator that shows us where we are headed if we continue to abuse and pollute the land. We should pay attention to it, ”Cortvriend said. “While the bill is somewhat light-hearted and fun, what I really hope is that it will initiate more discussion of why we can’t wait to deal with our climate change crisis. . These tiny polyps have a lot to tell us about what we are doing to our planet, and designating them as our state coral can amplify that message. The legislation has already energized Sharp and his fellow coral researchers. “Our research community is completely supported by this,” she said. Now that the state’s designation of the coral is official, Sharp looks forward to using it as a platform for a number of projects, including a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) program. Kindergarten to grade 12 focused on climate culture. “Atrangia is a great emblem for the state of Rhode Island because it’s small like Rhode Island, it’s tough like the Rhode Islanders and it’s well positioned to provide insight to solve global issues,” said Sharp. .
The Uros are pre-Incan people who live on self made floating islands in Lake Titicaca on the border of Peru and Bolivia. The purpose of the island settlements was originally defensive, so if a threat arose they could be moved. Nowadays most of their people live on the mainland but a few hundred still live on and maintain the islands. Dried totora reeds, which grow in the lake, are used to construct reed boats as well as the islands themselves. The reeds at the bottoms of the islands rot away fairly quickly, so new reeds are added to the top about every three months.
11/06/2001 - Improving the quality of, and access to, early childhood education and care has become a major policy priority in OECD Member countries, according to a new OECD publication, Starting Strong: Early Childhood Education and Care. The early years are increasingly viewed as the first step in lifelong learning and a key component of a successful educational, social, and family policy agenda. Countries have adopted diverse strategies to policy development in this field à'Â¢à‚Â€à‚? strategies that are deeply embedded in particular country contexts, values, and beliefs. In particular, early childhood policy and provision are strongly linked to cultural and social beliefs about young children, the roles of families and government, and the purposes of early childhood education and care within and across countries. Taking a broader and more holistic approach than previous studies, this new OECD publication provides a comparative analysis of major policy developments and issues in 12 OECD countries - Australia, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States - highlighting innovative approaches and proposing policy options that can be adapted to different national contexts. What are the most promising strategies for organising policy in ways that promote child and family well-being? The report proposes eight key elements for equitable access to quality early childhood education and care: Governments increasingly recognise that public investment is necessary to support a quality system of early childhood education and care. Most countries in the OECD review seek to give young children the opportunity to experience at least two years of free early childhood education and care before beginning primary school. In several countries, access to early childhood education and care services begins earlier and is a legal right: from the age of 1 year in Denmark, Finland and Sweden, from the age of 2.5 years in Belgium and from age 3 in Italy. In general, however, the supply of services for children under three years does not meet current demand, and where services do exist, they may be characterised by fragmented access and poor quality of provision. Many countries have responded by expanding this sector, and by introducing protected and paid parental leave policies. Norway, for example, offers parental leave for one year, paid at almost 100% of earnings. Such measures help to promote also gender equity and reconcile family responsibilities and working life. Another high priority across a range of OECD countries is to improve the recruitment, training and remuneration of early childhood professionals, particularly for staff responsible for the development and education of children under three years. For staff working with pre-school children, there is a growing trend in most countries toward providing them with a tertiary degree. Coherent linking across the different sectors caring for young children is also a priority, in particular, at the levels of sectoral policy-making and local delivery. The improvement of quality through participatory approaches engaging staff, parents and children is also a need. The publication, Starting Strong: Early Childhood Education and Care, will be presented on Thursday 14 June at an international conference co-organised by the OECD, the Ministry of Education and Science in Sweden and the Swedish National Agency for Education. Minister Ingegerd Wà¤rnersson will open the conference. Policy officials, researchers and practitioners from 50 countries will discuss the findings of the report, share innovative national and local approaches, and explore strategies to address the major challenges in the field. On the day before the conference, delegates will have a first hand look at the internationally-renowned Swedish early childhood settings during a pre-conference programme hosted by the City of Stockholm. "Starting Strong. Early Childhood Education and Care" 214 pages, OECD, Paris 2001 Available in electronic format (pdf) Â€45; FF295.18; US$40; DM88.01 ISBN 92-64-18675-1 (91 01 01 1)
One of the most reliable indicators to predict that a person will develop type 2 diabetes is the presence of insulin resistance. Insulin is produced in the pancreas and is the hormone responsible for ensuring that glucose reaches several tissues and organs in the body, such as muscles. Insulin resistance is characterized by the lack of tissue response to insulin and is counteracted by a greater production of insulin by the pancreas. When the pancreas does not have the capacity to produce the amount of insulin required for tissues to receive glucose, glucose in blood increases to pathological levels and the individual goes from being insulin-resistant to suffering type 2 diabetes. Although it is unclear what makes people develop insulin resistance, several studies report that resistant subjects show functional alterations in mitochondria. These intracellular organelles are responsible for transforming glucose into energy that the cell will then use to perform several functions. A study performed by the researcher Marc Liesa, a member of Antoni Zorzano's lab at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), describes a new control pathway of a gene responsible for mitochrondrial fusion, a process that contributes to the correct function of these organelles. This pathway could therefore be a key component in the development of insulin resistance. The results of this study have been published in the scientific journal PloS One. Diabetes: a complex genetic map Previous studies demonstrated that people resistant to insulin have altered mitochondrial capacity to "generate" energy through a process called oxidative phosphorylation. In a study performed in 2003, two possible main actors were identified, the genes PGC1-beta and PGC1-alpha. These two genes are responsible for regulating the whole cascade of genes and proteins that allow mitochondria to produce energy by means of oxidative phosphorylation. Now, for the first time, a study has shown that another gene, called Mitofusin 2 (Mfn2), which is decreased in diabetic patients, is also controlled by PGC1-beta. This information is highly relevant because until now it was considered that PGC1-beta controlled the production of energy only by regulating the expression of mitochondrial genes responsible for oxidative phosphorylation. "We have discovered what the cell does to regulate this mitochondrial fusion gene and we explain why this gene is decreased in diabetes, as it is regulated by PGC1-beta, which in turn is affected by this disease. However, although this evidence allows us to propose interesting hypotheses as to the role of Mfn2, its exact role remains unknown", explains the first author of the study, Marc Liesa. Key or secondary role in diabetes? One of the hypotheses is that mitochondrial fusion is crucial for the correct function of these organelles and when the gene that regulates this fusion is decreased, the function of mitochondria is also impaired. But where is Mfn2 situated in the genetic map of diabetes? Is the decrease in mitochondrial fusion related directly to the appearance of insulin resistance? The researchers have obtained the first data that support the notion that Mfn2 plays a key role. In 2005, in experiments in vitro using rat skeletal muscle cells, the scientists removed the expression of only the Mfn2 gene without touching PGC1-beta, and confirmed that the decrease in mitochondrial fusion affected the capacity to generate energy, "regardless of whether PGC1-beta is functioning correctly", stresses the head of the group, Antonio Zorzano. "What we are proposing is that the alteration in the fusion alters mitochondrial activity. Observation that the removal of only Mfn2 produces insulin resistance in later experiments in a simple living model not only in individual cells - , would imply that modulation of this gene contributes to this pathology, thereby making Mfn2 a therapeutic target of interest", concludes Zorzano. Type 2 diabetes currently affects 6.5% of the populated aged between 30 and 65 in Spain and recent years have witnessed an increasing incidence of this disease among adolescents and children. \|Contact: Sonia Armengou\| Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona)
LHC smashes TeV record ahead of proton-smashing experimentsby Stevie Smith - Mar 19 2010, 18:12 Let the atom-smashing begin! Image: CERN. Don’t look now, but preparations ahead of potentially groundbreaking atom-smashing experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are increasing in intensity – and the world has not yet come to an end. More pointedly, the gigantic subterranean particle accelerator, which is operated by CERN and buried deep underground just outside of Geneva, has this week had its operating energy levels pushed to three times more than it has achieved since being fired up. According to CERN representatives, the massive 17-mile ringed accelerator has now circulated protons in both directions at a whopping 3.5 trillion electron volts (TeV). In doing so, the collider surpassed its own speed record, which was set back in December when it pushed past the one trillion TeV barrier. With such huge speeds successfully achieved, CERN scientists are expected to begin smashing proton streams together in the next few days in order to re-create and study conditions immediately following the Big Bang and learn more about the origins of our universe. Finally up and running and ready to search out information regarding the likes of dark energy and the elusive Higgs Boson (a.k.a. the God Particle), it’s hasn’t been an easy path of discovery for CERN. Specifically, progress has been beset by a number of failures and mishaps, the most serious of which reared its head in September of 2008 when overheating super-conducting magnets caused more than year of major repairs a mere nine days after the machine had been turned on for the first time. Critics of the Large Hadron Collider and its particle experiments believe the possible creation of micro black holes could spiral out of control and devour the planet (cough). Some also believe that mysterious failures associated with the accelerator are the result of future particles moving back through time to prevent the experiments from ever taking place.
An estimated 100 African elephants are killed each day by poachers Today is World Elephant Day, and while that means it’s a great time to catch up on cute elephant videos online, there are also serious problems facing the species. Elephant numbers have dropped by 62% over the last decade, according to the World Elephant Day website, and an estimated 100 African elephants are killed each day by poachers. Asian elephants are also in trouble: there are fewer than 40,000 Asian elephants left in the world, which is less than one-tenth of the African elephant population. Still, according to National Geographic, there are signs of hope. In 2016, the mean estimate of the Proportion of Illegally Killed Elephants (PIKE) dropped below 5% for first time since 2009, which means the population may be able to recover, National Geographic says. And prices of raw ivory in China dropped more than 50% between 2014 and 2015, according to the latest survey by Save The Elephants (STE), which could decrease the demand that leads to poaching. World Elephant Day asks people to support various conservation policies to help elephants, including improving enforcement policies to prevent the illegal poaching and trade of ivory, conserving elephant habitats, providing better treatment for captive elephants and reintroducing some captive elephants into sanctuaries.
This year, Canada became the second country in the world to fully legalize cannabis. But reaching this progressive state was a long process, taking almost a century from the 1923 prohibition until today. So how the hell did Canada marijuana get here? Cannabis use since the dawn of time Marijuana has been enjoyed by humans since as far back as the prehistoric era, being a major part of many cultures around the globe. While its exact origins are not 100% known, scientists believe cannabis originated in central Asia or China, and since then it has been harvested for many purposes. The plant has historically been used for producing fibres, for its great range of medicinal benefits, as well as for recreation. Its psychoactive effects have also been an integral part of spiritual or religious traditions for many cultures. The climate and environment have influenced the way different cultures used cannabis in the past. As a weed, cannabis can grow practically anywhere, but different climates lead to the production of different strains. Hot and dry climates are great for producing weed with high THC levels, while cooler or humid environments lead to low potency strains, which are better for fibres. It’s no surprise then that regions with a hot climate have historically been using cannabis for recreation, or as part of traditions and rituals, due to the plant’s strong psychoactive properties. For example, bhang (a high-potency cannabis strain) has been used in India for thousands of years as an important part of various traditions. On the other hand, in Europe and North America, the main purpose of harvesting cannabis until the 19th century was for its high-quality fibres, derived from hemp. This is in no small part thanks to the colder environment, which determined the qualities and properties of the plant. Marijuana in North America It’s not completely clear when pot started being used in North America for its psychoactive effects. There’s a chance that some native Americans were already using marijuana as part of their culture before white settlers’ arrival in the early 1600s, but the evidence is not clear. Between the 17th and early 19th centuries, cannabis was mostly cultivated in the USA and Canada in the form of hemp. In 1801, hemp seeds were distributed to Canadian farmers, for fuelling the economy. Cannabis was also used for its medicinal benefits during the late 19th century. Its medical properties were widely researched at the time, with doctors commonly prescribing it for many health conditions. However, the development of opiates – faster and more effective painkillers – caused cannabis to gradually lose popularity in the medical field. In the 1910s and 1920s, marijuana gradually became part of the underground culture in the USA, leading to a global perception shift, with this image not completely gone even today. At that time there was a wave of migration of Mexican workers into the USA, and smoking weed became more associated with minorities and the working class. In Canada, despite marijuana not being widely used, it became illegal in 1923, joining the list of other restricted drugs such as cocaine and morphine. The psychoactive properties of cannabis became better known in the USA and Canada in the early 20th century. At the same time, the rising synthetic textile and newspaper industries recognized the threat of cannabis fibres, therefore influencing government policies against the plant. Canada Marijuana in the late 60s The ’60s in the USA showed a boom in pot consumption, especially due to the hippie, psychedelic counterculture of the time. The movement reached Canada and became popular in the late 1960s and 70s, as Canadian youth began rejecting many social norms and values of the time, including racism, lack of women’s rights, and poverty. Marijuana consumption sky-rocketed. Head shops became popular places among smokers, selling various weed and tobacco paraphernalia, such as bongs, vaporizers, grinders etc. Other counterculture items such as magazines, clothes, or posters were (and still are) also popular in head shops. Multiculturalism is likely to have also played a part in the marijuana boom in Canada in the late 60s and 70s. Travelling to foreign cultures became a popular activity for Canadians, who were thus exposed to the traditional uses of marijuana in the East. The immigration policy of Canada also changed in the 60s, and alongside immigrants from different cultures, the government also implemented a more open policy, allowing them to keep some of their cultural traditions, although marijuana was not seen as acceptable by the authorities. Canadians embraced pot, but the government did not. Despite the growing weed consumption, the Canadian government tightened regulations, by signing the UN’s Convention on Psychotropic Substances in 1971. During the 70s and 80s, Canada was also influenced by the USA’s war on drugs. Despite the government’s efforts, smoking pot only increased in popularity, especially during the 1990s. Canada’s marijuana policy started shifting in the 1990s, for medical reasons, following the case of a man suffering from epilepsy. Terrence Parker was growing and using cannabis because of his epilepsy seizures, and he was arrested multiple times for possession. In 1997, he was once again arrested for possession, as well as cultivation and trafficking, as he had admitted to distributing weed to other patients. The judged ruled in his favour, claiming the law was unconstitutional and violated Terrence’s rights. His case caused a reconsideration of the policies on medicinal marijuana. In 2001, it became officially regulated through the Marihuana for Medical Access Regulations (MMAR). The government made changes to the MMAR in 2013, implementing the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR). The new regulation also allowed commercial licensing for the cultivation and distribution of medical cannabis. However, the MMPR didn’t allow patients to produce their own cannabis, which meant they could only get marijuana from licensed producers. This changed in 2016, with the new Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR). Possession and Cultivation By the 1990s, many European countries had already given up prosecuting people for possession. In Canada, possession was still criminalized, with policies and regulations changing throughout the 2000s and 2010s. In 2003 and 2005 the liberal government presented two decriminalization attempts for weed possession, but neither of them came into effect. A new anti-drug policy was implemented in 2006, doubling the maximum prison sentence for cultivating cannabis from 7 to 14 years. In 2012 Justin Trudeau proposed complete legalization of marijuana as a major point in of his electoral campaign, becoming Prime Minister in 2015. The Cannabis Act officially passed in 2017 and came into effect in October 2018. We made a buying guide that lists the best Indica strains on the market. If you want to learn more about Indica strains specifically or get just some quality suggestions, click here!
CANARY ISLANDERS. On February 14, 1719, the Marqués de San Miguel de Aguayo made a report to the king of Spain proposing that 400 families be transported from the Canary Islands, Galicia, or Havana to populate the province of Texas. His plan was approved, and notice was given the Canary Islanders to furnish 200 families; the Council of the Indies suggested that 400 families should be sent from the Canaries to Texas by way of Havana and Veracruz. By June 1730, twenty-five families had reached Cuba and ten families had been sent on to Veracruz before orders from Spain to stop the movement arrived. Under the leadership of Juan Leal Goraz, the group marched overland to the presidio of San Antonio de Bexar, where they arrived on March 9, 1731. The party had increased by marriages on the way to fifteen families, a total of fifty-six persons. They joined a military community that had been in existence since 1718. The immigrants formed the nucleus of the villa of San Fernando de Béxar, the first regularly organized civil government in Texas. Several of the old families of San Antonio trace their descent from the Canary Island colonists. María Rosa Padrón was the first baby born of Canary Islander descent in San Antonio. Mattie Alice Austin, "The Municipal Government of San Fernando de Bexar, 1730–1800," Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association 8 (April 1905). Carlos E. Castañeda, Our Catholic Heritage in Texas (7 vols., Austin: Von Boeckmann-Jones, 1936–58; rpt., New York: Arno, 1976). The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article."CANARY ISLANDERS," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/poc01), accessed December 20, 2014. Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
U.N. Rules That Abortion is a Human Right* Meaning the foetus is not human, and babies are a result of alien abduction… so they can use them for bio-fuel (electricity) as they do in the U.K., and Canada…Only party can have rights, not both, that is why they drown migrants in the ocean so they can’t get to Europe which is bombing their country because only the West has rights, and so it goes on…rich vs. Poor, young vs. Old., able bodied vs. the disabled, Christian vs. Muslim, white vs black. By Brianna Acuesta In an unprecedented international decision, the UN has ruled that abortion is a human right. Though it several years for the UN to make the decision and over a decade for Peru to comply, a young woman from Peru is finally being paid reparations for not being allowed to abort her unborn child. It all started in 2001, when a 17-year-old woman called K.L. was three months pregnant and her unborn child was diagnosed with anencephaly. This birth defect means that the foetus was developing with little to no forebrain and, if carried to term, the baby would certainly die and would risk the mother’s health as well. The doctor that made the diagnosis recommended that K.L. have an abortion since Peru allows abortion when the life of the mother is at risk. Despite this exception to the otherwise outlawed practice of abortion, the hospital refused to perform the procedure on the grounds that the State did not provide clear regulations for providing the service. The 17-year-old woman was forced to give birth to her child and then breast feed her for the four days that she survived outside of the womb. K.L. described the remainder of her pregnancy as an “extended funeral” and, after seeing the deformities on her baby and knowing she would not live very long, she sank into a deep depression from which it took years to recover. The Centre for Reproductive rights said that the Peruvian hospital illegally denied her right to an abortion and when they learned of the case several months after the baby died in 2002, they took the case to the United Nations Human Rights Council and filed it against the Peruvian government. It was not until 2005 that the UNHRC declared that Peru, in denying K.L. a legal medical procedure that had a plethora of adverse and long-lasting effects, had violated several articles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The violations included the right to an effective remedy, prohibition on torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, the right to private life, and the right of minors to measures of protections. The decision marked the first time that an international human rights committee had ruled that a government body was accountable for not allowing access to legal abortion services, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights. The UNHRC also demanded that Peru pay reparations to the woman to make up for the mental and physical consequences she faced. Peru did not, however, immediately agree to pay the reparations. Lilian Sepúlveda, one of the original attorneys K.L. v. Peru who brought the case to the U.N., said that, ““As groundbreaking as this win was for establishing legal precedent, successes like these do not stand on their own. In order to make a difference for our client and women facing similar situations, concrete implementation of the decision is absolutely essential.” The implementation that Sepúlveda references began in 2014 in Peru. Almost a decade after the U.N. made their decision, Peru adopted national guidelines for safe abortion practices and gave clarity to physicians and patients. The country also finally met with the Centre for Reproductive Rights to negotiate a reparation agreement for K.L., which was paid in December of 2015. According to Women on Web, 25% of the world’s population lives where there are highly restrictive abortion laws that essentially make a safe abortion illegal. About 13% of maternal deaths worldwide were caused from unsafe abortion practices. 95% of abortions in Latin America and over 97% of abortions in Africa were unsafe in 2008. It is especially important to consider the legality and morality of abortion right now in Latin America because of the rise of Zika virus, where babies are born with small heads and underdeveloped brains. Though the origins of the virus may be highly controversial, the fact that there has been an increase in babies born with this defect is not and should be considered in the debate. Comment: Oh is that what the Zika Hoax is about…
The coolant temperature sensor plug in a Subaru is connected to a sensor that gauges the engine temperature. The sensor itself is made of a metal that raises and lowers the resistance between the two terminals of the plug depending on how hot it gets. The ECU and cluster pick up this resistance value and use a base calibration to equate this input to a specific temperature. It is important to read the temperature beyond just knowing if the engine is overheating because when the car is started cold it needs a different fuel mixture compared to when the engine is hot. The correct fuel mixture means a better running car. The quickest way to tell you may have an issue with your coolant temperature sensor plug is when the gauge isn't reading properly. Usually it is due to a bad connector since they are located on top of the engine. Being so close to the hot engine makes the plug brittle and could effect the connection. Subaru has changed this plug multiple times over the years. It was first two separate plugs, then a three pin plug, and now it is a two pin plug. Due to changes with how Subaru communicates (Analog vs Digital) the plug has been updated. See below for more specifics about each generation. To purchase, click on one of the connectors needed below! This plug is seen in 1998 Subaru and older. These cars use two different plugs to read the coolant temp. One is the two pin plug pictured and the second is a single pin plug that can be replaced with a spade terminal. 1998 and Older Models This generation of plug combined the functions from the two separate plugs in the previous iteration into a single connector to send output signals to both the ECU and to the cluster. This type of connector is used in the first generation of CANBUS equipped cars. It has an input for ground and a single output to the ECU. The ECU then sends the signal via CANBUS to the gauge cluster. This generation uses the same input and output style as the last generation but changed the connector type.
Develop a presentation to share the most important information about your TOPICof the text to the class through an interactive, engaging project or presentation. You must use technology in some way, include vocabulary, and have the class do some kind of written assignment. Ready to use Directly link to this rubric or embed it on your website: Copy the following code to another website, ePortfolio, blog, or email message: URL: This is the web address of this rubric. Link: This is the HTML code of a hyperlink to this rubric. Unlike a URL, a hyperlink is clickable. Embed: This code would display the entire rubric within a frame on other websites.
Getting Started can sometimes be daunting. These tutorials are designed, not to give the best solution to a challenge, but instead introduce you to some of the concepts that are necessary to solve the bigger challenge. Think of them as a launching pad to better solutions! Generic Robot Designs These robot designs are a good place to start with robotics. They can generally work for all different challenges with only minimal changes. While these are great for getting started, make sure you read the rules of each challenge carefully to make ensure your robot design is compliant. How to use the IRSeeker and Compass Sensor - RCJA Soccer Webinar : Dr Damien Kee (2hr45min) RoboCup Rescue Getting Started Tutorials - by Greig Tardiani RESCUE LINE (NXT) OPEN RESCUE LINE (NXT) 2. Speed Bumps 3. Water Tower RESCUE LINE (EV3) RoboCup Rescue EV3 Beginners Workshop (NT Workshop) (G. Tardiani 1/9/2016) RoboCup Rescue EV3 Workshop PowerPoint Part 1 (G. Tardiani 20/5/2015) RoboCup Rescue EV3 Workshop PowerPoint Part 2 (G. Tardiani 20/5/2015) RoboCup Rescue EV3 Workshop PowerPoint Part 3 Advanced Line Following (G. Tardiani 20/5/2015) RoboCup Rescue EV3 Workshop PowerPoint Part 3 PID Line Following (G. Tardiani 20/5/2015) Includes comprehensive PID Line Following RESCUE LINE (RobotC) RESCUE MAZE (EV3) The following Rescue Maze workshop files are the ones used by the Queensland RCJ Committee at their 2017 workshops. They give a good introduction to Rescue Maze and outline strategies that will get your team well on the way to meeting the Rescue MAze Challenge. Webinar: Introduction to Line Following - Dr Damien Kee (90mins) ClubEngineer Tutorials - http://www.clubengineer.org/robocup Hints and Tips - Robot Build - Optimal Height of Lego Light Sensors Set your light sensors so that the red light is between 10 and 12mm in diameter. That equates to the Light Sensor being around 5mm off the surface of the Rescue Tile. - White and Silver give the same readings on your Light Sensor Place one of two layers of sticky tape over the Light Sensor to diffuse the light - Centre of Gravity Make sure your robots centre of gravity is over your drive wheels when climing up and down slopes - Floating Light Sensors Create a mechanisim that allows your Line Folloing sensors to float independant of the robot chassis. This will allow your sensors to maintain the same height over the undulations of the course. Hints and Tips - On the Course - Starting your Robot Ensure your robot is behind the divide of the tile your about to navigate. If you drop your robot on, over or in front of the line you will be asked to re-start and may incure a re-start penalty. You can start your robot at either the City Limits OR your nominated Drop Zone. Note: You can start in either direction at the Drop Zone. Your nominated Drop Zone must be at least 2 tiles back from the Chemical Spill. - Spill Exit bonus points To gain Spill Exit points, your robot must regain and show that it is following the line, exiting via the Chemical Spill silver indicator. - Chemical Spill The Victim must be rescued in the same orientation by the robot. If the vicitim falls off the Spill tile due to it being elevated an imaginary team of rescuer's will be there to catch it for you. - New 300 x 300 Tiles The new tiles will increase the angle your robot needs to climb. Make sure it can scale the new slope. A line on a tile that is to close to the edge specified in the rules can have a 'wing tile' placed so that robots can navigate the tile. A line on a tile that is within the distance to the edge rule may NOT have a wing tile. - Physical Challenge Tiles The Sea-Saw, Speed Humps, Hills and any other physical challenge tiles can be introduced in National competitions. They will be tested prio to ensure they are achievable challenges.
It was a Saturday night and because I had no food for dinner at home, I ran to the supermarket for my weekly shop. The pre-packaged sushi was discounted and seemed like a great, quick and easy meal idea - until I opened the plastic packaging. Hidden behind the price label was ginger in a plastic wrapper, wasabi in a plastic sachet and soy sauce in plastic foil. So much plastic, and even worse - it was all single-use! I couldn’t reuse it and I’m sceptical of whether they could be or would be recycled. As a coastal-lifestyle enthusiast, I only hope they don’t end up in our seas. Plastics exist forever in our marine environment. Plastic pieces, large and small, drift on ocean currents and entangle marine life. Sea turtles and birds often confuse plastic for food and consume it. You may not always see the plastic pollution, as sun and waves break it up into smaller and smaller pieces. These pieces, no bigger than 5mm, are known as microplastics. Despite being minuscule, they have a big impact. - Scientists predict by 2050 there will be more plastics in the ocean than fish! - In southern Australia alone, up to 1500 seals and sea lions become entangled in plastic pollution and die every year. - More than one-third of sea turtles in Queensland’s Moreton Bay area die from pollution ingestion or entanglement. I was surprised how few plastic bags were collected at recent clean ups around Darwin’s local beaches with our volunteers, Rosebery School and Marrara Christian College. This is a good sign and could be due to Darwin’s single-use plastic bag ban that’s been in place since September 2011. There weren’t many plastic bottles either, which is shocking considering Australians buy 600 million litres of bottled water every year. Maybe this is reflective of the Territory’s cash for containers scheme. Both are admirable initiatives to help reduce plastic pollution. Our love for packaged market food was evident though. We collected a high quantity of plastic takeaway containers. These containers are quite durable, and can be taken to the market to reuse again and again. In total, across three clean up sites (Vestey’s, Lee Point and Dripstone Cliffs) we collected 135 kilograms of rubbish. 80 kilograms of this was collected within 30 minutes at Vestey’s - a surprise for all the volunteers who joined in. It was also surprising that the rubbish was devoid of barnacles. We suspect the rubbish hasn’t been deposited on our beaches by the tide, but left behind by coastal-users. We collected bottle caps, food wrappers, aluminium cans, straws, plastic drinking cups, car tyres, towels, thongs, balls, even a plastic garbage bin and lid buried in the sand (unfortunately, not a matching set). Plastic pollution is gaining global attention. Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt has recently committed $60,000 to kick-start research into Australian plastic pollution reduction. Twenty-year-old Boyan Slat will launch The Ocean Cleanup in 2020, which comprises a network of floating barriers that allow ocean currents to passively gather the pollution into a central location, where it is collected for recycling. Two Australian surfers are about to launch an innovative floating, automated rubbish bin: The Seabin Project. There are many people working to lessen this problem. It is one threat to our marine life that each of us can actively reduce. We can join a clean up event or pick up litter individually. Or, even before it’s travelled to our beaches and waterways, we can be a conscious consumer. We can stop and think about what we buy, and say no to single-use, unnecessary items, like straws and takeaway containers. I know I will think twice before buying pre-packaged supermarket sushi again. Every little bit makes a difference. We send a huge thank you to our volunteers, supporters, Rosebery Middle School and Marrara Christian College who got their hands dirty to clean our coastal areas for Clean Up Australia.
Optical Imaging: A Review You can see a lot by looking – (Yogi Bera). This aphorism captures the power and appeal of imaging: through the visualization of the structure or function of the object of our interest, we can learn a great deal about it. Modern imaging technologies are advancing rapidly, and are becoming important in biology, medicine, and numerous other areas of science. There are many approaches to imaging, each with its own advantages and limitations of targets and of spatial and temporal resolutions. These approaches include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), magnetoencephalography (MEG), optical imaging, ultrasound imaging, and various types of microscopy, including both light and electron microscopy. In this review we shall briefly sketch one particular approach to imaging: optical imaging. We shall illustrate its use in the study of the functional organization of the mammalian brain. A more comprehensive review of optical imaging as applied to the brain can be found in Grinvald et al., 1999. Become a member or log in to view the full text of this article. OSA Members get the full text of Optics & Photonics News, plus a variety of other member benefits.
Help your stream, pond or wetland get fit for the season. April lingers in the space between neglected gym memberships and swimsuit season. It’s also a time when water levels run high and fast, temperatures start warming up and animals begin looking for ideal nesting habitat. Although buffing it up for the beach may be top of mind, buffing up your stream, pond or wetland to ensure it’s fit for the season should be on your spring to-do list, too. How to buff it up Planting or enhancing a buffer is the best way to protect the health of your water feature. A buffer is the planted area along the edge of a stream, pond or wetland. It may include native grasses, wildflowers, shrubs and trees. Buffers protect the health of freshwater systems. They cast shade to keep water cool for cold-water species like brook trout. Plant roots stabilize slopes near water edges and prevent erosion during high-water season. Roots also slow rainwater runoff and filter pollutants to reduce flooding and water pollution. They also provide food and shelter for wildlife like turtles and birds. And they’ve been known to deter geese from loitering around manicured lawn and pond areas. Start by letting the native vegetation grow rather than mowing to the water’s edge. It’s not only less work for you, but you’ll also save on gasoline, reduce your carbon emissions and free up more time for the beach. Consider planting a buffer strip just a few metres wide along the edge of your water feature. If you have the space, a bigger buffer is always better. A 30-metre buffer is recommended. That said, partial buffers have value too. You can continue to mow some edges for water access or sightlines to the water and still see the benefits. CVC’s restoration team will do the heavy lifting for you. They provide species recommendations, tree and shrub planting services and subsidized prices. Grants are available through CVC’s Landowner Action Fund and Rural Water Quality Program for eligible projects. Learn more about caring for your stream, pond or wetland by connecting with our stewardship team. Your Countryside Stewardship Team
A team of EU scientists is investigating the use of nanoparticles to remediate polluted soils and water. The first phase, which consists of evaluating the toxicity of various candidates, is well underway and has already yielded encouraging results. Whereas most countries currently rely on ‘pump and treat’ and/or removal to landfill (ex situ techniques) to remediate soil and water, the excavation of contaminated material can sometimes be either not desirable or not feasible. This is where in situ technologies – biological, chemical, physical and/or thermal processes to treat soil and/or groundwater at sub-surface level – come into play: they can be undertaken with minimal disruption in site operations, they reduce worker exposure to a minimum and they have a much smaller footprint than ex situ methods. Aiming to bring in situ techniques to the next level, the NANOREM project trusts in the use of small particle size and high reactivity nanoparticles. Nano-scale zero valent iron (nZVI), for example, is expected to deliver a substantial improvement in remediation performance for a wide range of problems. The use of these nanoparticles, however, is limited due to uncertainties surrounding their environmental impact. The project has five core objectives, one of which is increased knowledge and confidence among stakeholders. To achieve this, the team has been measuring the toxicity of potentially interesting nanoparticles, assessing their ecotoxicity when in contact with soil and pollutants, measuring how this toxicity changes with time, and describing how they interact with indigenous microorganisms during and after remediation treatment. Recently, the NANOREM team announced the initial results of ecotoxicological tests for a range of nanoparticles that could be good candidates for remediation projects: NanoFer 25S, Carbo-Iron, Fe-Oxide, Fe-Zeolites and Bionanomagnetite. The nanoparticles were tested on a range of organisms including earthworms, crustacean, green algae and bacteria, and the team found no significant toxicological effects on either of them. The team has also announced two other positive findings. First they confirmed that, while looking at how nanoparticles’ reactivity and toxicity changes with time, they actually become less reactive as they interact with soil matrices. Then, they investigated whether nanoparticles being used to treat pollutants were able to fully degrade them and not to turn them into more toxic compounds – a widespread concern among stakeholders. Although this work is still underway, initial results seem to indicate no increase in pollutant toxicity even within a few metres of the injection wells and shortly after the injection was performed. On the contrary, groundwater samples from one of the field sites were found to be highly toxic prior to injection of Fe-Oxide nanoparticles, but this toxicity was significantly reduced within three weeks following injection. The project will continue until January 2017, when the team hopes to have low-cost production techniques ready for use in large-scale commercial applications. The next steps will be to pursue ecotoxicity testing, whilst the monitoring of injected field sites will continue for several months and assays on microbial functioning are scheduled for the second half of the project. The researchers are optimistic and consider the results obtained thus far as extremely promising. For further information, please visit:
In 1911, photographer Burton Welles published Fifth Avenue, New York, from Start to Finish. The block-by-block tour up Fifth Avenue from Washington Square to East 93rd Street in Manhattan captured horse-drawn carriages mingling with early cars, Gilded Age mansions, and newly built institutions like the New York Public Library (NYPL). Bert Spaan of NYPL Labs recently launched Street View, Then & Now: New York City’s Fifth Avenue. The online interactive compares Welles’s street views of New York City to today, as seen through Google Street View. There are radical changes like the disappearance of the grand Vanderbilt mansion, which was replaced with the Bergdorf Goodman department store, pictured in 1911 with a double-decker car tooling by. However there are still many buildings from this era that stand over a century later, including NYPL’s main branch itself, although it doesn’t yet have its guardian lions Patience and Fortitude. Earlier this year, NYPL released over 180,000 public domain images and has encouraged engagement with the resource through its Remix Residencies. Along with Street View, Then & Now, projects like Emigrant City, where users can transcribe 19th- and early 20th-century real estate records from the Emigrant Savings Bank, and the Stereogranimator which augments stereographs into 3D GIFs, demonstrate the possibilities of public domain experimentation. Back in 1911, Welles was part of a surge of photography projects that methodically chronicled cityscapes, such as Rudolph M. De Leeuw’s Both Sides of Broadway published in 1910 (you can flip through the whole book online at the Internet Archive). NYPL notes that in 1907, the Fifth Avenue Association started in response to encroaching factories on the fashionable street, and it may have inspired Welles’s wide-angled photography approach. What at first might seem like a documentary exercise is actually a romantic view of the early 20th-century city. Christopher Gray, in an introduction to the 1995 reissue of the book by Dover Publications, wrote that Welles “was unsatisfied with Fifth Avenue as it really was, and the streets are heavily painted out.” In particular, he covered up the horse manure. The perspective is also a bit skewed with the panoramic camera, giving odd angles on sites like the demolished Windsor Arcade (today the site of a Guess store), and Andrew Carnegie’s residence that’s now the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Yet with the strolling pedestrians, opulent homes of Millionaire Row, and glimpses of the corset shops, clubs, and advertisements is a real sense of what walking on Fifth Avenue might have felt like at that time. Below are a few comparisons from Street View, Then & Now, and you can find all of the images from the 1911 publication digitized at NYPL Digital Collections. Street View, Then & Now: New York City’s Fifth Avenue is online through NYPL Labs.